Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has been ruled out for 10 to 11 weeks due to his left foot injury.
Manager Pep Guardiola confirmed the news in his pre-match news conference ahead of City’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest.
On Monday, Ake posted a picture of himself with his left foot in a cast on Monday and said he had undergone “successful surgery on a (foot) fracture” which had been “bothering (him) for months”. Ake was withdrawn at half-time of City’s FA Cup fifth-round win over Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, having previously appeared to be struggling with an injury.
“10-11 weeks (he will be out) they said to me,” Guardiola said on Friday. “When you have surgery it is because something wrong happened. It’s important that it is done. He has struggled.”
Ake has been restricted to only 18 appearances in all competitions this season, dealing with various injury issues during the campaign. This foot injury means he will also miss the Netherlands’ Nations League quarter-final ties against Spain later this month, having been named in Ronald Koeman’s provisional squad last week.
The 30-year-old’s Instagram post read: “This has been such a frustrating season for me but I have now had a successful surgery on a fracture in my foot which has been bothering me for months and I am looking positively to the future!
“Rest and recover now, see you soon Cityzens and thank you for your support.”
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Ake’s absence adds to City’s injury list in defense, with John Stones and Manuel Akanji not expected to return until approximately the end of April.
City did, though, bolster their defensive ranks in the winter transfer window with the signings of centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras. Khusanov, 21, has already made four Premier League starts and one in the Champions League, as well as featuring as a substitute in the FA Cup, while Reis, 19, has started in City’s fourth- and fifth-round ties in that competition.
After the trip to the City Ground, City host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on March 15 ahead of the international break.
(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
