Man City the losers in collecting international injuries ahead of Arsenal clash

Walker, Stones and Akanji injured?

Nobody wishes injuries on any football players as it can be cruel torture for those players involved, but Arsenal may have been given a boost because of injuries picked up on international break before we get set to face Manchester City this weekend.

Kyle Walker went down with an injury in England’s 1-0 loss to Brazil and looked like he has suffered a hamstring or muscle injury. Walker rarely get injured so seeing him go down is somewhat of a big thing and he’s not a player who would stay down unless he felt something bad or it hurt a lot. The media are reporting that it’s not as serious as once thought and he has travelled back to Manchester to try complete a fitness test before our game against them this weekend.

John Stones is another player City could be without on the weekend after he too was seen limping off the pitch in England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium last night. After playing only 9 minutes, Stones was subbed off and has since travelled back to Manchester to try and receive treatment like his team mate Walker a few days before. This comes as a massive blow for City as two of their best defenders could be set to miss one of the biggest games this season.

Manuel Akanji was also forced to withdraw from Switzerland’s game against Ireland because as reported by the Switzerland manager he had picked up a knock that saw him also leave to go to have treatment back in Manchester. Akanji has the ability to play across the back four and with Walker and Stones also looking like having concerns, it leave’s Pep’s side weakened coming into the game this weekend.

Matheus Nunes could also miss out on the game this weekend after picking up a broken finger in City’s Champions League game with Copenhagen, adding just another name to the ever growing list of City players that could be missing.

We luckily came back with 99% of our players intact, Bukayo Saka was forced to leave England duty with reports of an ongoing niggling injury but all signs point to him being okay to play on the weekend. These injuries will be a big blow for City but they still have a lot of quality throughout their team and will most likely be able to cover for their losses, but it will be a big boost tactical wise for Arteta and Arsenal.

We will have to wait and see if these injuries are serious or not and should know before the weekend comes.