Ruben Dias was left out of the matchday squad as Manchester City beat Liverpool in the EFL Cup on Thursday and Pep Guardiola confirmed he picked up a knock while on international duty.
The 25-year-old is believed to have suffered a thigh injury while playing for Portugal against Morocco in the World Cup and has yet to return to training at City.
Guardiola said (h/t Daily Mail): “Ruben is injured” and he’s not expected back for a month, so the Portuguese international could miss a lot of important City games.
The Sky Blues have eight games in the next four weeks – Leeds United (December 28), Everton (December 31) and Chelsea (January 5) in the league, Chelsea (January 8) in the FA Cup, Southampton (January 10) in the EFL Cup and Manchester United (January 14), Tottenham Hotspur (January 19) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 22) in the league.
Dias has made 19 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring one goal. He’s been a regular in the Premier League and Champions League, so Guardiola will miss him. Manuel Akanji started alongside Aymeric Laporte against Liverpool and could get the nod for Wednesday’s meeting with Leeds.
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