Manchester City winger ruled out for “a while” due to injury – Arsenal return deemed unlikely

Pep Guardiola has issued a further blow to supporters concerning the injury and fitness situation that Manchester City continue to find themselves in.

The ongoing season has been hampered by such problems and as such Pep Guardiola has consistently found his squad selection options decimated by players requiring treatment or extended periods of recovery.

The campaign got off to the worst possible start on that front with Oscar Bobb sidelined for five months with a leg bone break prior to the opening Premier League game, while Rodri would then fall to a double-knee injury in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal last September.

At times, Guardiola and his coaching staff have had to play numerous players out of position, and at one stage not have any of their first-team central defenders available for selection due to injury and fitness concerns.

But while Manchester City have now strengthened in the transfer market, and some players are beginning to find consistency in their own fitness with rest and rotation becoming more possible, a new problem has been struck upon the squad.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola offered a further update on the fitness and injury problem that has been struck upon wide attacking talent Jeremy Doku, sustained around the 0-6 win over Ipswich Town earlier this month.

When asked how long the Belgian forward could be sidelined for, Guardiola responded, “A while.”

He continued, “I don’t know how much, but a while, yeah. He will not be ready for Wednesday (against Club Brugge), for sure.

“I don’t think so for Arsenal, so. I think, we’ll see.”

Jeremy Doku had only recently been seeing a significant up-turn in his performance levels from the left of Manchester City’s front-three, providing goals and assists across competitions that were in-turn bringing about positive results.

Thankfully for Guardiola and Manchester City, Doku’s absence will be taken care of by the fact that Omar Marmoush has since arrived through the doors of the Etihad Stadium in a €75 million transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Egyptian international has the ability to feature across the club’s attacking line, and will likely rotate on the left of a trio with the likes of Savinho and Jack Grealish, whilst offering flexibility where needed.