Manchester City welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon and Pep Guardiola will be without Kyle Walker due to injury. The 32-year-old underwent surgery on a groin problem, but Guardiola revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference that he doesn’t know when he’ll return.
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As per the Daily Mail, Guardiola said: “The same as the doctor said – he’s out for a few weeks.” Walker has made eight appearances in all competitions this season and was a regular at right-back until he picked up a knock in September’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
The England international missed City’s 4-0 win over Sevilla (September 6) and 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund (September 14) before returning to the matchday squad for their meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers (September 17). Walker was an unused substitute but played for 41 minutes in the 6-3 win over Manchester United (October 2) before coming off injured.
Walker is likely to be out of action until November, so Joao Cancelo will replace him at right-back with Sergio Gomez on the left. Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand are waiting in the wings for more playing time too, but Guardiola will only want to deploy the inexperienced youngsters in an emergency.
Not bringing in a fullback for the suspended Benjamin Mendy could prove problematic if injury strikes City’s defence again.
In other news, ‘massive’ claim made as Pep Guardiola receives ‘important’ injury boost
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