Manchester City will have to cope without the creative services of Kevin De Bruyne for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup showdown with Sevilla in Piraeus.
Two months on from suffering a severe hamstring injury in the Champions League final, De Bruyne was on the field for just 23 minutes against Burnley before doing more damage to the muscle.
Guardiola has already resigned himself to losing De Bruyne for "a while", and the Belgian midfielder is one of three injury concerns for the Citizens alongside Ruben Dias (concussion) and Bernardo Silva (illness).
Neither Silva nor Dias should be out for much longer, but Guardiola may have one eye on the visit of Newcastle United to the Etihad on Saturday and could also err on the side of caution with the recently-returned Stones.
Luckily for the Catalan coach, he has a new centre-half in Josko Gvardiol ready and raring to go for his full debut, and the Croatian could link up with Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake in front of Stefan Ortega, who earned praise for his Community Shield showing against Arsenal.
De Bruyne's injury opens the door for Mateo Kovacic to join Champions League final hero Rodri in the centre of the park, while Julian Alvarez may continue just ahead of the pair as he seeks regular starts in Guardiola's system this time around.
With Silva sidelined and the likes of Cole Palmer and James McAtee set to provide impetus from the bench, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish should line up in support of the indomitable Erling Haaland.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:Ortega; Walker, Akanji, Gvardiol, Ake; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland
Ben Knapton
