Pep Guardiola: Man City defender John Stones set to be out for 'long period'

Haaland was left on the bench during City's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday after sustaining a knock in the Premier League match against Newcastle United just a few days earlier. Stones, who started the game at the Bernabéu, was substituted after just eight minutes due to an injury.

When asked about Haaland's potential involvement against Liverpool, Guardiola said, "I don't know yet. Tomorrow, we'll know it." He added, "Yeah, maybe (I'm hopeful) but I don't yet. We train today and tomorrow, he will test, I guess, but I don't know."

Stones is set to be sidelined for a longer period, further weakening a Manchester City defence already missing Manuel Akanji, who is out for up to 10 weeks due to a groin injury that required surgery.

"He's (Stones) injured, a difficult one," Guardiola explained. "In the next hours, days, we'll know if he needs surgery or not. Yeah, (it's a long period out), like Manu Akanji."

The England defender has struggled with injuries recently, making only 20 appearances for the club this season.

Despite the injury setbacks, Guardiola is confident that his team will give a strong performance against league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

"We can compete with any team. We have two central defenders out for two to three months. The Premier League is massively important for us," he said. âœIn the Premier League, we've played really good games. We are not stable, but in other games, such as against Newcastle, we've been at a high level. We will try to play a good game and get the points we need to stay up there and qualify (for the Champions League) next season.â

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