Man City news: Fan views on Manuel Akanji injury replacement

We asked for your views on how Pep Guardiola should deal with the loss of Manuel Akanji through injury for up to 10 weeks.

Here are some of your comments:

Rick: We won’t miss Akanji. He has not always been the perpetrator of the numerous recent schoolboy errors, but he is nearly always at the scene. He needed to be dropped anyway and the time off might just reset him to his magnificent best.

MU: Wish Akanji a speedy recovery. He has been nothing short of consistent ever since he arrived for an absolute bargain as well. As long as John Stones remains fit he should play as a number six because Mateo Kovacic is a bad fit in this really underperforming team. I expect Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov to battle for that starting spot.

James: I don’t see much change. It is clear the issues are in the midfield position vacated by Rodri, which exposes any attack-minded squad such as City. Our other central midfielders are technically astute but lack the pace and energy to track back through a combination of their age and ever-increasing minutes. Akanji’s absence is an opportunity for the new defensive signings to slot in – and with Stones coming back in, we won’t be short of cover. I’d like to see Gvardiol, Dias, Reis and Khusanov, with Stones sat in front.

Stella: I’m not at all surprised we are continually facing players getting injuries. Pep’s equation of having a small squad plus ageing legs and bodies doesn’t add up. Many of these injuries are caused by overuse. We scraped over the line last year to win the title with an ageing squad, alongside some luck with other clubs underperforming. The decline should, and could, have been addressed last year. Not often you can say that the club has mismanaged this situation, but obvious mistakes concerning recruitment and lack of rebuilding has caused the decline, which was entirely avoidable given City’s resources.