Phil Foden to miss first month of season through injury
By Tom Gott
Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden is expected to be sidelined for the first month of the season with the foot injury he picked up during Euro 2020.
The 21-year-old picked up the injury during one of England's final training sessions and was ruled out for the defeat to Italy in the final as a result.
The Telegraph report that Foden's injury is quite an 'unusual' one, and as a result, they are keen to proceed with extreme caution and will keep the youngster on the sidelines until they are confident he has recovered.
Foden is due to report back to the club on Monday, but he will not be part of training for a while and is expected to miss City's first three Premier League games as a result.
City get their new season underway with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, before meetings with Norwich and Arsenal will lead City into September's international break.
Foden will also be unavailable for selection from Gareth Southgate, meaning he will sit on the sidelines as England take on Hungary, Andorra and Poland in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
City's first game back, a rematch of the Community Shield against Leicester on September 11, has been cautiously earmarked for Foden's return, but club officials will not hesitate to keep him sidelined if they are not satisfied with his condition.
It's a real headache for Pep Guardiola, who will also be without Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for the opening week of the season. The 30-year-old is nursing his own ankle injury but is expected back in action sooner than Foden.
Centre-back Aymeric Laporte is in isolation after coming into close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, while John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus are all short on fitness after being granted extended holidays.
“On Monday we will be all together,” Guardiola confirmed. “A few players get their conditions so quick. The other ones need a little bit more time. We will see their weight, their body fat, how they arrive and especially their heads.
“There are players who play just three, four or five days and their mentality is positive, ready to fight and suffer in bad conditions, like happened [on Saturday] and some of them need more time. We will try to discover which ones are ready immediately. It depends on their heads. They have had the rest. They are rested so now they can be ready but it depends.”