John Stones injury: Manchester City hit by defensive crisis ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk trip

Stones potentially sidelined for six weeks, says Guardiola

Stones reacts after conceding vs Norwich (Action Images via Reuters)

Manchester City have plunged deeper into a defensive crisis on Tuesday when John Stones was ruled out for up to six weeks with a muscle injury.

Pep Guardiola confirmed that Stones is to be sidelined for at least a month at his pre-match press conference for City’s Champions League opener at Shakhtar Donetsk.

City are already without Aymeric Laporte, who will only return from a knee ligament injury next year, and Stones’s absence means Nicolas Otamendi is Guardiola’s only fit senior central defender.

“Injured this morning,” Guardiola said, regarding Stones. “A month, four or five weeks, six weeks. [It is] a muscular problem.”

Fernandinho, naturally a midfielder, is expected to slot alongside Otamendi in the centre of City’s defence, while youngsters Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis will provide first-team cover until Stones returns.

“It’s a challenge and they will do it well because my players are the best,” Guardiola said, when asked whether Fernandinho was ready to fill in at the back.

“We play with ‘dinho, Eric or Taylor. I will create something. That is what it is. Football is not how you handle the good situations. It’s how you handle the bad ones.

“This team has done it in the past. When we won the last two seasons seven titles, nobody gave us anything. We won for ourselves and we are going to do it again.

“The perfect ideal situation does not exist, it’s how you approach these ones. I am ready for the challenge. I like it, I like to live this situation.”

Stones’s injury – sustained while passing the ball in a training session – comes days after he and Otamendi were widely criticised for their performances in a shock 3-2 defeat away to Norwich City.

Fernandinho was in contention to start in the centre of defence against Shakhtar regardless of Stones’ absence, but the injury still comes at an inopportune time for Guardiola.

A six-week layoff would leave Stones sidelined until the final week of October. City travel to title rivals Liverpool on the weekend of 9 November.

“Something people don’t know is the spirit, commitment,” Guardiola said. ”Everybody makes a step forward to solve the problem we have. With ‘dinho, Eric Garcia and Taylor from the academy, we are going to go for the next month.

“Sometimes these situations happen. It’s happened. What we’re not going to do is complain. We have to make 11 players on the pitch, make extra effort, and I like to prove myself. To find a solution for the team.

“It’s for the players as well to step forward and contribution to this problem we have. Two important central defenders we have in John and Aymer are injured for a long time.”