Summary Manchester City will be without Mateo Kovacic for their game against West Ham due to a small muscular problem, but he won't be out for long. John Stones and Jack Grealish are also injured and won't be available for the match. Grealish has a knee injury and Stones has a muscle disturbance. Kovacic, who was signed for £30m, has been impressive with a high pass success rate and involvement in creating shots, making his absence a blow for Guardiola.
Manchester City are set to be without one of their senior first-team players for today’s Premier League game vs West Ham United, according to a fresh update.
What's the latest injury news at Man City?
After picking up an injury during the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal back in August, John Stones has been on the sidelines ever since and is yet to stage his comeback, but he’s not the only member of the team to have been out of action in recent weeks.
During the international break, Jack Grealish had to withdraw from England duty despite initially being named as part of Gareth Southgate’s squad due to a problem arising when being checked for injuries sustained prior to camp, though there was another star that failed to represent his country.
At the Etihad Stadium, Mateo Kovacic arrived over the summer from Chelsea and has played in all four of the opening top-flight games of the season, but he didn’t feature for Croatia over the past fortnight, with a few further details having emerged surrounding his situation.
The Sky Blues’ central midfielder admitted that he had been carrying a small problem and reports from his homeland had claimed that he may need to undergo a scan to discover the true extent, as per the Manchester Evening News, and whilst it doesn’t sound too serious, the 29-year-old won’t be available for this afternoon’s encounter at the London Stadium.
How long is Mateo Kovacic out for?
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Kovacic is ruled out against West Ham, though alleviated fears that he won’t be missing for too long. As quoted by the club’s official website, he said:
"It is something muscular, and not a big issue but he’ll be out for tomorrow."
Expanding on the injuries to Stones and Grealish, the boss stated:
“They are both injured. They aren’t able for tomorrow. I don’t know (how long for) – I don't think they will be ready for Red Star, but we will see, step by step. The injury for Jack is not muscular, but he has an incredible knock on his knee. Still the damage is there. John is still a little better, but has a disturbance in his muscles.”
How much did Man City pay for Mateo Kovacic?
When Kovacic put pen to paper at Man City for a reported £30m, he was hailed a “smart signing” for the club by journalist Josh Bunting, and considering how much he’s impressed during his performances so far, the fact that he has to sit out of the fixture vs David Moyes’ side will be a blow to Guardiola.
The VPA Sports client, who earns £150k-per-week, is extremely calm and composed in possession where he’s been recording a 92.7% pass success rate, alongside averaging 1.3 tackles per top-flight game, via WhoScored, highlighting his desire to throw himself into challenges and win the ball back for his team.
The Linz native, however, is also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch having made 13 shot-creating actions so far this season, the highest throughout the squad being 17, so his box-to-box action will be thoroughly missed, albeit and thankfully for the boss not for too long.
