Pep Guardiola's primary objective at Tottenham was to emerge without any further injuries to his Manchester City squad. He got at least two more.
With six influential players missing, and no sign of any returning before the international break, City's preparations at Spurs were rocked when Manu Akanji pulled out of the warm-ups with a calf problem.
The fact that he picked up the injury the day before but was still risked in the starting line up underlines the desperate nature of Guardiola's injury problems.
Maybe that was because Ruben Dias is 'struggling'. Dias replaced Akanji but was substituted at half-time. And his replacement Josko Gvardiol ended the game getting treatment from physios on the pitch after the full time whistle.
Related News