John Stones injury complicates Pep Guardiola plan for Man City defence

Much has been made of Manchester City playing Liverpool and Atletico twice in an April fortnight, and rightly so. Four matches in three competitions across 11 days could ultimately define how successful their season is.

Yet it doesn't need Pep Guardiola to say that league titles are won over 38 games rather than one, and as daunting as the games on the horizon look, the Blues cannot afford to stumble in a fixture that their manager has described as like going to the dentist. Burnley away is a serious test of any title challenger, and one that City need to navigate if they want to stay ahead of Liverpool.

As it stands, the international break has complicated the Burnley plan. Ruben Dias is working his way back from a hamstring injury sustained at the beginning of March in the FA Cup win over Peterborough, yet he has gone four weeks without training with the squad.

READ MORE: Three Man City issues Pep Guardiola must address for Liverpool and Atletico Madrid games

Burnley is a game that Guardiola would consider playing three centre-backs owing to the aerial threat of Sean Dyche's side — Aymeric Laporte played at left-back last season with Dias and John Stones in the middle — but he has been warned by the medical team that bringing Dias back against Burnley could risk the Portugal international aggravating his injury and missing the rest of the season. That is one gamble that doesn't seem worth taking.

However, news that Stones has returned to Manchester early from the England camp threatens to throw a spanner into that works. The 27-year-old was picked to start the friendly against Sweden on Saturday, only to pull up after feeling tightness in the warm-up and a return to training ahead of the Ivory Coast game only confirmed