Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted that the club will not delve into the transfer market when it opens in January, despite the Citizens' significant injury problems.
Incredibly, 11 of City's players have suffered injuries so far this season, with Oleksandr Zinchenko the latest addition to the treatment table.
The Ukrainian went for knee surgery in Barcelona on Friday and Guardiola is hoping the left-back will return in just over a month.
Yet more defensive worries for Pep Guardiola
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 22, 2019
"It's not a big issue for Oleks but he'll be out for five or six weeks. They did something to clean the knee, it's not a big thing. He had a contact with a knee and felt something in the bone," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Speaking more widely on City's bad injury luck this campaign, Guardiola expressed confidence in his squad's ability to cope with the absences of key players such as Rodri and Aymeric Laporte.
"We are in a bad period in that sense. [But] we can't start complaining, 'oh what bad luck'. In a few positions there are not many but we have incredibly good players. We're going with them."
Guardiola was also adamant that City have no plans to bolster their squad in January.
"Well I think we are not going to buy. The club didn't introduce to me the players they thought could help us. So without that it's not going to happen," he revealed in the same press conference.
"Our need is not just for six months, it's for a long time and the important players will not be sold [in January]. We are going to stay all the season, I think, with all the players we have right now."
Their injury crisis did not seem to affect City on Tuesday, with Guardiola's side romping to a 5-1 win over Atalanta in the Champions League.
The Citizens will be looking to continue this fine form when they face Aston Villa on Saturday, as they seek to keep pace with Leicester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Source : 90min