MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City and Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol needs surgery this week for a fracture to his right leg and faces months out ahead of the World Cup.
Man City’s defense was weakened again on Tuesday when Portugal center back Rúben Dias was confirmed to be out for up to six weeks with a hamstring strain, coach Pep Guardiola said.
Speculation has circulated City could target signing Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi, the England center back whose projected move to Liverpool four months ago fell through in the final hours of transfer deadline day.
Gvardiol and Dias were injured on Sunday in a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea that left the team trailing Premier League leader Arsenal by six points.
The 23-year-old Gvardiol “suffered a tibial fracture to his right leg,” City confirmed in a statement late Monday.
He will have surgery this week and City gave no timetable for his return.
Even without two key defenders, the 2023 European champion is well set to advance directly to the Champions League round of 16 in March. The club is fourth in the 36-team standings with two league-phase games left this month at Bodo/Glimt and hosting Galatasaray.
Croatia starts its World Cup group on June 17 against England at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Croatia then plays Panama in Toronto and Ghana in Philadelphia.
Gvardiol is likely to miss Croatia’s visit to the United States in March for warmup games against Colombia and Brazil.
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