John Stones is scared that he will have to miss Manchester City's top-of-the-table match against rival team Arsenal after getting a muscle injury while playing for England.
He was among only five players who played the full 90 minutes in England's 1-0 loss to Brazil over the weekend and continued to play against Belgium, but only lasted ten minutes in Tuesday's friendly match.
Joe Gomez of Liverpool stepped in for Stones, and Ezri Konsa moved to centre-back as Jude Bellingham secured a 2-2 draw for the Three Lions in their final game before the upcoming European Championships.
Gareth Southgate was uncertain about the seriousness of Stones' problem but confirmed that the City player had suffered an adductor injury at the post-match press conference, which would have left Pep Guardiola concerned ahead of Sunday's important match at the Etihad.
Stones missed 11 games for City at the beginning of the season due to a hip issue and has been a regular in the team since then, as last year's treble winners once again compete in the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup.
But The Daily Star has reported that City will likely be significantly affected because Stones is struggling to recover in time for this weekend's crucial match.
The England player, who has been playing in midfield for Guardiola this season, is reportedly not optimistic about his chances of participating after undergoing scans in Manchester.
Stones' City teammate Kyle Walker is also racing against time to be fit to play against the Gunners after hurting his hamstring in England's first Euro 2024 warm-up game against Brazil.
The full-back pulled up after only 20 minutes and was replaced by Aston Villa defender Konsa before Endrick entered and scored the only goal of the match at Wembley.
Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be able to play against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal after missing City's win over Newcastle due to a groin injury before the international break.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are reportedly optimistic about having a strong squad for the game, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Gabriel Martinelli all expected to be involved despite some concerns about their fitness.
It is yet to be seen if Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu could participate after the duo played in a private match with QPR last week.
Partey played for an hour after being sidelined for several months with a hamstring injury, while Tomiyasu got 45 minutes of play time as he continued his recovery from a muscle problem.
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