Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is ruled out of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley due to injury.
The 28-year-old was forced off midway through the second half of City's 1-1 second-leg draw away against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday after pulling up with a hamstring problem.
Ake revealed after the match that he was hopeful the injury was not too serious, telling Sky Sports: "I've had it before and it feels a little bit less to be honest, but you never know with these things, so we will do the ultrasounds and stuff tomorrow and then hopefully it's not too bad."
However, Guardiola has revealed that the Dutchman will not recover in time to feature against Sheffield United on Saturday and will undergo a final test on Friday to examine the extent of his injury.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola said: "He's [Ake] not ready for tomorrow but I don't know the damage. I think this afternoon they do the final test to see exactly what he has."
Ake has developed into an influential first-team member for the Citizens this season, starting 29 of his 36 appearances across all competitions.
The left-footed defender has filled in at left-back on a regular basis since the turn of the year following the loan departure of Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich in January.
The absence of Ake will likely see fellow left-footed defender Aymeric Laporte handed a start on Saturday, while 18-year-old Rico Lewis is also an option at Guardiola's disposal.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has confirmed that Phil Foden is available for selection following a spell on the sidelines recovering from appendix surgery.
The English attacker watched on as an unused substitute against Bayern in midweek and will be pushing to make his first appearance for City since the 6-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Burnley last month.
"He was on the bench [in Munich] after two training sessions and three weeks without training," said Guardiola. "Each day that passes he will be better."
Man City have won all four of their FA Cup matches this season without conceding a single goal, including victories over Championship teams Bristol City and Burnley, but Guardiola is expecting a challenging contest against another second tier side in Sheffield United this weekend.
The Blades, who beat Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round, sit second in the Championship table and require just one victory to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Asked about Sheffield United's style of play under current boss Paul Heckingbottom, Guardiola said: "It's quite similar the way they played under Chris Wilder. Incredible first season. A lot of patterns.
"They are one game away from Premier League promotion and it will be an extremely difficult game. For the quality of the set pieces, build up and building the channels. They are so aggressive in the duals. This is the feeling I have. We need to be there at 4:45pm to deserve to be in the final."
Man City are competing in their sixth FA Cup semi-final in the last seven years, and a victory on Saturday will set up a final showdown with either Brighton & Hove Albion or city rival Manchester United. body check tags ::
