Man City injury latest on John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland ahead of Sheffield United

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was left to bemoan another injury to John Stones on Wednesday night, with the Barnsley-born defender having only recently returned to the side.

Stones has endured an injury plagued season at City and started the eventual 3-1 victory over Everton, but was forced off early after picking up an ankle injury in challenging Beto during a phase in play where the Toffees forward was offside but the flag had yet to go up.

Guardiola said the injury to Stones "doesn't look good" but added: “Hopefully the damage isn’t big and he can come back soon.” 

Stones will almost certainly miss Saturday's match against Sheffield United and that clash at the Etihad will likely come to soon for two of Guardiola's key men, who have also been missing.

Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out since early August, is well on the road to recovery but not quite ready for a return as Guardiola admits the club's medical staff are being cautious around the Belgian's comeback.

“Kevin is close, but he had fatigue yesterday and we have to be careful," the City boss said. "If you don’t handle the timings good you can get injured again.

“I’d love for him to play the next game [against Sheffield United] or Huddersfield [in the FA Cup], but what is important is keeping him fit for a long time, not for one game or another.”

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland is also close to a return after missing almost all of this month's action, including City's Club World Cup success in Saudi Arabia.

“He [Haaland] is training alone and getting better, it’s a question of when the pain will disappear,” added Guardiola. "He’s not a skinny guy like Phil Foden, he’s huge and tall so it is more difficult sometimes."

Sheffield United will be without the suspended Anel Ahmedhodzic and Gus Hamer for the match at the Etihad, as well as loanee James McAtee who can't play against his parent club.