Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that veteran midfielder Mateo Kovacic will be out for around three to four weeks after picking up an injury playing for Croatia.
Kovacic was injured while playing for Croatia in Monday’s 1-1 draw at home to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League, and was substituted at half-time.
“He’s going to be out for three weeks to a month, no more, no less,” Pep said ahead of City’s Premier League clash with Spurs on Saturday.
However, Man City will have several players back to help the team, especially defenders John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
“John has trained well, as has Manu, and Nathan is coming back into training. We didn’t have any centre-backs, now we have three. Ruben (Dias) is not ready yet but he will be back soon,” said the City boss, who signed a new contract until 2027.
Kovacic had featured in the starting line-up for seven of City’s last 10 matches, but he could now miss eight games in the vital run-up to Christmas. The 30-year-old midfielder has scored three goals in 11 league matches this season. Including a Promotion ufabet double in the 3-2 victory over Fulham last month.