Manchester City looks set to be without a host of key players this week, when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur for a midweek Carabao Cup clash, and then face Bournemouth in the league on the weekend. Jack Grealish, according to the timeline provided by City manager Pep Guardiola, could be back by the weekend at least.
Meanwhile Jeremy Doku is on pace for the following weekend. This certainly hurts the level of depth in the final third right now.
Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Competition: EFL Cup Round of 16
Kick: Wed. Oct 30, 8:15pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City
Team News for Both Sides
Guardiola said, in regards to Doku, on Oct. 22: “Jeremy a little longer than Jack, but both are injured after the last games. I don’t know [how long they will be out for].”
On Grealish, the same day: “Hopefully, Jack will be maybe one week, 10 days, Jeremy a little longer.”
And that was the last time he provided an update on either of the pair. The news is better for them than it is for another pair of injured Man City stars, Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne.
“I think he is not ready,” Pep said of Walker. “Since being with the national team, he’s not been well.”
There seems to be no real timeline for his return. It’s unknown when De Bruyne will be back either, with Pep saying nothing other than the vague:
“Hopefully he comes back soon. I don’t know yet, I would like to tell you, but I don’t know…”
Shifting gears to the hosts, there really is nothing to report here for Tottenham at this time.
Heung-Min Son and Djed Spence remain out, and that’s all we have regarding Spurs team news right now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.