Man City have another key player pull out of internationals with ‘knock’

Man City have seen a fourth player pulled from international duty this month due to a minor injury, which is a common occurrence for Pep Guardiola’s side.

It is often the case that Man City players seem to suffer timely injuries heading into or during the international break, with five pulling out in November.

The majority of those then took part in training upon the resumption of domestic football, to little surprise from their rivals.

This month saw 16 of Guardiola’s players called up for various friendlies and qualifiers with their national teams, though Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Ederson were already left out.

Kyle Walker then pulled out of the England squad after a hamstring issue picked up in the loss to Brazil, but it has since been reported that he should fit for the title clash with Arsenal on Sunday

Now, Manuel Akanji has withdrawn from Switzerland duty early due to a knock.

The suggestion is that Akanji’s exit comes as a precaution, with the likelihood being that he could be involved in the clash between the first and third in the Premier League.

De Bruyne’s omission from the Belgium squad was met with skepticism from those outside of the club, and him and Grealish were both pictured in training on Monday.

The expectation is that Ederson will also be fit for the weekend, having missed Brazil’s friendlies against England and Spain.

It follows a familiar trend for the Manchester club, though they appear not to be alone in this during the March break.

Arsenal saw both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes pull out of duty for their countries as a precaution, with neither considered a doubt for Sunday.

Even Liverpool could be accused of stressing club over country at this stage of the season, as Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez both stayed behind despite featuring against Man United last time out.

An agreement was struck with the Egyptian FA for Salah to miss friendlies against New Zealand and Croatia to focus on his long-term fitness after injury.

Nunez, meanwhile, was pulled from contention for Uruguay after complaining of discomfort having played over two hours in the FA Cup quarter-final loss.

Both players should be available against Brighton on Sunday.

Ryan Gravenberch was overlooked by the Netherlands, while Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota all missed out due to established injuries.