Stones injury further depletes Man City's central defense

Posted September 17, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Manchester City will be without John Stones for around five weeks because of an injury, further depleting the Premier League champion's central defensive options.

City manager Pep Guardiola says Stones sustained an unspecified muscular problem in a practice session on Tuesday ahead of the team's Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk.

It leaves City with Nicolas Otamendi as its only fit center back. Aymeric Laporte is already sidelined and could be out until the start of 2020.

Guardiola says "for me as a manager it is an incredible challenge. But I believe in something people don't know about - spirit and commitment. We will make steps forward to solve this problem."

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Manchester City's coach Pep Guardiola attends a press conference ahead of the Group C Champions League soccer match between Manchester City and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) The Associated Press

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