Pep Guardiola sounds alarm as Manchester City injury crisis leaves only 13 senior players available

Manchester City suffered their first defeat of the season with a 2-1 loss to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, where they lost two more players to injury.

Pep Guardiola Injury Crisis
Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Manchester City faced their first defeat of the season on Wednesday night, falling 2-1 to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup. Despite rotating their line-up, the team lost two important players to injury—Manuel Akanji withdrew from the starting line-up after feeling discomfort during the warm-up, and Savinho was taken off the field on a stretcher with an ankle injury in the second half.

City is already grappling with a lengthy injury list, with key players like Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Kyle Walker still sidelined. Erling Haaland remained on the bench, as Guardiola was cautious about risking the Norwegian striker with similar injuries impacting the squad.

Reflecting on the situation, Guardiola expressed his concerns post-match, saying, “We have only 13 players, and it’s very challenging. For nine years, we haven’t dealt with this many injuries at once. But in difficult times, the players come together, stepping up even with limited recovery time.”

City now faces three consecutive away games before the November international break, starting with Bournemouth on Saturday, followed by a Champions League clash with Sporting CP in Lisbon three days later, and concluding this phase with a trip to Brighton.

Manchester City performance and stats

Manchester City

Manager: Josep Guardiola
Top 3 Scorers
This season

In the last 2 games, it has won once and lost once. In its last match, Manchester City lost 2-1 against Tottenham Hotspur.​​

It has a even goal difference after scoring 0 goals and conceding 0.​