Man City face defensive injury crisis as Dias ruled out for run-in

Manchester City will be without three key defenders for the rest of the Premier League title race after manager Pep Guardiola confirmed Ruben Dias was out for the season on Sunday.

City reclaimed the top spot from Liverpool with a 5-0 hammering of Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, but their joy was somewhat tempered by the injury news.

While City have built a three-point lead with three games to go, Guardiola will have to do without Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker for their games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United and Aston Villa.

A muscular problem forced Dias off at halftime against Newcastle while Stones and Walker both suffered injuries in the Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid.

“Ruben, Kyle and John out until the end of the season,” Guardiola said. “Next pre-season maybe they will be ready.

“Ruben’s problem is muscular. Not the same position, but hamstring.”

With Nathan Ake, an unused substitute against Newcastle, also struggling with an ankle injury, Guardiola says he only has three fit defenders available for Wolves.

“He has a problem in his ankle for a long time,” Guardiola said. “It happened in the game against Leeds. Still he has a little niggle and doesn’t feel comfortable. “We have Joao (Cancelo), Oleks (Zinchenko) and Aymeric (Laporte).”

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s trip to north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday can be a defining moment of their season, manager Mikel Arteta said as they look to seal a top-four finish and an automatic spot in next season’s Champions league.

Fourth-placed Arsenal head into the match with a four-point advantage over Spurs and knowing that a victory will be enough to secure their place in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2017.

“We’re going to go for that match with the same enthusiasm we always do, but knowing that this can be a defining moment,” Arteta told reporters after his side beat Leeds United 2-1 on Sunday. “It can be another layer of motivation for us to really go for it.”

Arteta’s position came under scrutiny after Arsenal began the campaign with successive defeats by Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City in August but the Spaniard has silenced the doubters and signed a new contract until 2025 last week.

“We have earned the right to play that game in that context,” Arteta said. “We started the season with nine or 10 players out and playing the best two teams in Europe.”