Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Jeremy Doku is unlikely to feature again for Manchester City until after the November international break.
The last remaining unbeaten club in the Premier League at this stage of the season are facing a crucial test of their trophy-winning credentials that will no doubt stretch their playing squad even further before the next pause for national team duties.
The visit of Southampton on Saturday afternoon represents Manchester City’s final home game before the visit of Tottenham on November 23, with four consecutive away fixtures coming between now and the November international break.
And arguably at the worst possible time, Manchester City have been struck with three new injuries since the conclusion of the October break, with Kyle Walker sustaining a knee problem whilst representing England.
Kevin De Bruyne’s ongoing absence despite training with the first-team squad has also been matched by fresh blows to Manchester City’s left side of their attacking line, with both Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish missing the midweek rout over Sparta Prague.
Speaking during the second-half of his pre-match press conference looking ahead to the weekend’s meeting with Southampton, Pep Guardiola offered more clarity around the timeframes for Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku’s respective returns from injury.
On whether either player could feature again for Manchester City before the November international break, Pep Guardiola responded, “Jack (Grealish), yeah, I hope so. But Jeremy (Doku) I don’t think so.”
Issuing further details on the scenarios that led to the latest double blow to Manchester City’s playing squad, Pep Guardiola revealed that Grealish sustained his problem in the first training session after the 1-2 win over Wolves last Sunday.
As for Jeremy Doku, the Belgium international is believed to have picked up his injury issue during the clash at Molineux. Guardiola said, “Jack was in training, the day after (Wolves), in one action. And Jeremy I think was Wolves.”
The latest development around Doku in particular means that the lightning winger will not only miss this weekend’s meeting with Southampton in addition to the midweek clash against Sparta Prague, but is also likely to miss a further four matches.
That would take his total period of leave through injury to four weeks, with away trips to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup fourth round and Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League amongst his missed opportunities.
A Premier League double-header away to Bournemouth and Brighton on the south coast are also likely to come for Manchester City without the availability of Doku, and Pep Guardiola will have to call upon other options that may include Matheus Nunes.
