Dias and Gvardiol sidelined as Man.City face defensive crisis

Manchester City will be without Ruben Dias for up to six weeks and fellow defender Josko Gvardiol for “a long time”, manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.

- 

The club announced on Monday that centre-back Gvardiol was facing a lengthy layoff with a tibial fracture to his right leg that he suffered in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, on the eve of City's home game against Brighton, Guardiola confirmed the depth of the crisis in central defence, with John Stones also sidelined.

Guardiola said Dias had injured his hamstring and would be out of action for “between four and six weeks" while he did not put a timescale on Gvardiol's return.

Referring to Stones, Guardiola said: “(He is not) ready for the next games. Of course, he's an important player for us for a long time and he was injured for a long time last season. This season looks the same.

“He's trying a lot and trying everything, but he's not fit.” Guardiola, whose team are second in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Arsenal, said he was confident they could cope with the absences.