John Stones was replaced after just ten minutes against Belgium (Picture: Getty)
John Stones fears he will be forced to miss Manchester City’s top-of-the-table clash with title rivals Arsenal after picking up a muscle injury while on international duty with England.
The 29-year-old was one of only five players to play the full 90 minutes of England’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil at the weekend and continued his run in the side versus Belgium, though lasted just ten minutes of Tuesday’s friendly.
Liverpool’s Joe Gomez came on in place of Stones, with Ezri Konsa switching to centre-back, as Jude Bellingham rescued a 2-2 draw for the Three Lions in their final match before this summer’s European Championships.
Gareth Southgate was unsure over the severity of Stones’ issue but confirmed that the City defender had sustained an adductor injury at his post-match press conference, which will have had Pep Guardiola sweating ahead of Sunday’s heavyweight encounter at the Etihad.
Stones missed 11 games for City at the start of the campaign due to a hip problem and has since been a mainstay in the side, with last year’s treble winners once again battling for honours on three fronts – in the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup.
But The Daily Star report that City are likely to be handed a significant blow given Stones is losing his fight to be fit for this weekend’s crunch match.
The England international, who has been deployed in midfield by Guardiola this season, is said to be pessimistic over his chances of being involved after undergoing scans in Manchester.
The England international fears he will miss City’s clash with Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Stones’ City colleague Kyle Walker also finds himself in a desperate race to be fit to face the Gunners after injuring his hamstring in England’s opening Euro 2024 warm-up friendly with Brazil.
The full-back pulled up after only 20 minutes and was replaced by Aston Villa defender Konsa before Endrick came on and scored the only goal of the game at Wembley.
Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be available to take on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal after missing City’s victory over Newcastle with a groin injury prior to the international break.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are said to be hopeful of entering the contest with a strong squad, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli all in line to be involved despite some concern over the trio’s fitness.
It remains to be seen whether Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu could play a part after the pair featured in a behind-closed-doors match with QPR last week.
Partey managed an hour after missing several months with a hamstring injury, while Tomiyasu got 45 minutes under his belt as he stepped up his recovery from a muscle issue.
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