Ilkay Gundogan was a notable absentee from Manchester City’s squad when the starting lineup for their meeting with Everton was announced on Wednesday evening.
The 30-year-old picked up a groin injury in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and wasn’t deemed fit enough to feature against Everton. Gundogan was replaced in midfield by Bernardo Silva, Rodrigo and Phil Foden, resulting in Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling starting out wide. Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho were named on the bench.
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Gundogan took to Twitter to give an update on his injury, saying: “Already feeling much better right now after some groin problems from last weekend, but unfortunately not ready yet for tonight. I’m confident to be back in team training soon. Best of luck to my teammates at Goodison Park!”
The German international has made 26 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 13 goals and supplying three assists. He’s been one of City’s best performers in 2020/21 and one of the first names on the teamsheet of late, so his absence against Everton is a loss.
Pep Guardiola revealed that Gundogan may not be out of action for long, however. In quotes reported by Sam Lee of The Athletic, he said: “He’s much better. It’s not a big issue but to avoid risk today we give him a few days to recover and hopefully for Arsenal and Gladbach he will be available.”
After Everton, City travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face an Arsenal side sitting 10th in the Premier League table and will be favourites to pick up all three points. There’s every chance Gundogan will make his return against the Gunners.
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