SM
Inter Milan vs. Como: 21 hrs 22 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Mateo Kovacic injury: When will Man City midfielder return from injury?

:Headline: Mateo Kovacic injury: When will Man City midfielder return from injury?:
Sports Mole takes a look at how long Man City's Mateo Kovacic will be sidelined for and when he could return from injury.
Sports Mole

Manchester City supporters were hoping that November's international break would provide some of the club's senior stars with an opportunity to step up their recovery from injury.

Pep Guardiola has been working with small squad riddled with fitness issues for some time and oversaw a run of seven consecutive games without a win in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career between October 30 and December 1.

Man City returned to winning ways last week when they beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium, but they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace last weekend, and their hopes of retaining the title are now hanging by a thread.

Sitting fourth in the Premier League table and eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand, Man City are still dealing with a number of fitness issues, and their victory over Forest came at a cost as both Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji were withdrawn with injuries.

While Akanji missed the draw with Palace and is ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League trip to Juventus, Ake is facing a spell on the sidelines with Rodri, Oscar Bobb, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic, the latter of whom has now missed five games due to injury.

What is the latest on Mateo Kovacic's recovery from injury?

Guardiola confirmed Kovacic's injury last month, telling reporters at the time that he is set to miss "three weeks or a month, more or less" with his unspecified problem.

The 30-year-old, who has played 15 times in all competitions for Man City this season, was hurt while playing for Croatia in a 1-1 draw with Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on November 18, and was substituted at half time.

Since sustaining his injury, Kovacic has missed games against Tottenham Hotspur (0-4), Feyenoord (3-3), Liverpool (2-0), Nottingham Forest (3-0) and Crystal Palace (2-2), but the midfielder is now closing in on a return.

Indeed, Kovacic has travelled as part of Man City's 22-man squad to Turin ahead of Wednesday's Champions League showdown with Juventus, and he was pictured in team training on Tuesday morning.

Guardiola has since revealed that Kovacic could feature for "a few minutes", but a return against Juventus is unlikely.

Kovacic may therefore target a return for the Manchester derby against rivals Manchester United on Sunday, or an away trip to Aston Villa on December 21.

Who has been filling in for Kovacic in Man City's midfield?

Kovacic was the man tasked with filling the void left by Rodri and was deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in the vast majority of his 15 appearances for Man City across all competitions this season.

Guardiola has had no natural defensive midfielders in his senior squad since Kovacic sustained his injury, and he has predominantly relied on Ilkay Gundogan, Rico Lewis and Bernardo Silva to occupy deeper midfield roles, with two of those being tasked with playing together rather than just a sole pivot. De Bruyne, Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish have also be called upon to operate in midfield.

Academy starlet Nico O'Reilly is another midfield option at Guardiola's disposal, and although he has played centrally on four occasions so far this season (once in the Champions League, once in the Community Shield and twice in the EFL Cup), he is yet to make his Premier League debut.


body check tags ::

amp_article__558785 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-12-10 19:11:55:
html db last update - 2024-12-10 19:11:55 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:
MC
Read Next:
Man City confirmed XI: Foden absent, KDB, Ederson decisions made for Forest test
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Pep Guardiola Rodri Oscar Bobb Ruben Dias Max Alleyne Mateo Kovacic Nico O'Reilly Rico Lewis Kevin De Bruyne Bernardo Silva Ilkay Gundogan Matheus Nunes John Stones Manuel Akanji Nathan Ake Arne Slot Jeremy Doku Jack Grealish Phil Foden Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Man City confirmed XI: Foden absent, KDB, Ederson decisions made for Forest test
Game of the season: Leaders Liverpool tear Tottenham apart in nine-goal spectacular

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Rashford's future 'takes a fresh twist' as 'new favourite' for Man United star 'emerges'

1

RF

Game of the season: Leaders Liverpool tear Tottenham apart in nine-goal spectacular

2

GO

Following in Sinner's footsteps: Next Gen ATP Finals champion crowned!

NEW

3

FI

Two birds, one transfer: Spurs eye 'dual benefit' January deal for Dortmund star

4

TB

'Everton draw better than Brentford win': Maresca delighted with Toffees stalemate

5

'D

No Rush? The maths behind Salah's pursuit of Liverpool record

6

NR

Kylian is back: Mbappe shines as Real Madrid beat Sevilla in six-goal thriller at Bernabeu

7

KI

How many records? Salah among history makers in Spurs-Liverpool thriller

8

HM

'Not a concrete option': Why will Liverpool not move for Frimpong?

9

'A

A favour from an enemy: Liverpool receive huge title boost as Everton hold Chelsea

10

AF


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .