Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Ruben Dias will not be involved in Saturday's Premier League clash against Burnley, but John Stones is in contention to feature.
Dias has been sidelined since March 1 with a hamstring injury and has subsequently missed City's last four matches in all competitions as well as Portugal's 2022 World Cup playoffs over the last week.
Stones, meanwhile, was forced to withdraw from the England squad last weekend after picking up a knock in the warm-up before their friendly fixture with Switzerland.
Speaking to the press ahead of this weekend's trip to Turf Moor, Guardiola has confirmed that both Dias and Cole Palmer – the latter of whom has been out since January with a foot injury – remain unavailable for selection, while every other player in his squad are 'fit' to feature.
"We still have nine games to play. We will go game by game. We know what we have to do. We have to win games. It will be difficult, but we try. Ruben [Dias] and Cole Palmer are out. The rest are fit," the Spaniard said on Friday.
"[Dias] is out. I don't know. The doctor said for four to six weeks. We need 10 days or two weeks more. The plan depends on the players when I saw them for the training today and yesterday."
Should Liverpool move to the top of the Premier League with victory against Watford in the 12:30pm kickoff on Saturday, the Citizens will look to return to the summit by securing all three points against Sean Dyche's side.
Oliver Thomas
