In a recent interview (via Manchester Evening News) ahead of Manchester City’s crucial home encounter against Cardiff City on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Sergio Aguero won’t be available in midweek and could also be a doubt for their FA Cup clash against Brighton and Hove Albion. Guardiola addressed the media earlier today (via Manchester Evening News) and said, “He didn’t train for the last two days and tomorrow is not able, so hopefully for Saturday or Tuesday.
“But we will see the evolution of the next days.”
Not having Aguero fit for the Premier League game versus Cardiff could make the encounter a bit tricky for the home side, but Gabriel Jesus is more than capable of filling in his shoes this week. Jesus has found first-team opportunities hard to come by at the Etihad Stadium, so this recent development could pave the way for him to shine for Man City in the English top-flight.
Aguero has enjoyed a rich vein of form for the Citizens of late after scoring one and setting up another goal against Fulham last weekend. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane are also quite capable of sharing the goal-scoring workload in the Argentine striker’s absence. So the Mancunian outfit should not have any problem coping without Aguero against the Bluebirds.
Even though Neil Warnock’s side are fighting for their top-flight lives, the fact remains that on paper, Man City have a far superior squad when compared to Cardiff. It would have been a massive headache for Guardiola if Aguero sustained a severe injury, but fortunately, it seems like it is just a minor problem.
Man City have dodged a bullet which begs the question regarding whether Guardiola should concentrate on managing the game time of his star players heading into the final stretch of this season. The reigning champions of England could go back to the top of the league standings with a win on Wednesday night.
There is no doubt that Man City would have preferred to have Aguero on the pitch for this upcoming league match, but they have enough ammunition in their squad to cope with his absence for the immediate future.
