Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has shared his views on Nathan Ake's injury and how his expected absence "puts a lot of pressure" on teammate Josko Gvardiol heading into a busy fixture schedule.
It looked as if the Citizens would come through the international break unscathed until Ake was forced off on a stretcher with what looked to be a serious muscle injury while representing the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Ake's injury came about after attempting to control the ball with his outstretched left foot, and he was later seen on the brink of tears after he was placed onto a stretcher shortly before half time in the Oranje's 2-2 UEFA Nations League draw with Germany in Amsterdam.
Dutch boss Ronald Koeman admitted after the match that he is "not certain" about the severity of Ake's injury, but the 29-year-old defender is expected to miss Man City's Premier League clash with Brentford on Saturday and could be facing a spell on the sidelines.
Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, McInerney has suggested that Ake's injury cannot be viewed in the same light as either Rodri, Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne being stuck down with an issue, but the expected absence of such a "phenomenal" defender still comes as "a blow" for Pep Guardiola's side.
"It's not an injury to Rodri and it's not an injury to [Erling] Harland or an injury to [Kevin] De Bruyne, so it's not the worst thing that could happen. But it isn't great, because Ake is a phenomenal footballer," said McInerney.
"Pressure" now on Gvardiol after Ake injury
"He's been brilliant for City for an awful long time now, and we don't know how long he's going to be out. It looks reasonably serious. It looks like he's done some sort of muscle injury, and he seemed to be in quite a lot of discomfort."
McInerney feels that Man City still have a number of defensive options, but Ake's absence will put "pressure" on left-sided defender Gvardiol as the Citizens now prepare for seven games across all competitions in a 21-day period.
"At this stage of the season, we've got Josko Gvardiol playing left centre-back, and John Stones is still finding his fitness. [Manuel] Akanji and [Ruben] Dias have been really good. Kyle Walker is still to come back into the team. We did see Rico Lewis play at left-back the other day for England, so there's always potential cover there, and Akanji has also done a job there before.
"We can't deny that the games are coming thick and fast now. Guardiola has talked about pre-season finally being over - which is crazy given that we've already had three Premier League games - but I know what he means. Now it's a game every three or four days, because the Champions League starts, the domestic cup competitions start. It's going to be difficult, and it puts a lot of pressure on Josko Gvardiol.
"Now, he's young, he's healthy, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine, but we're going to need everyone. City have got a quality squad, but it's not the deepest squad in the world.
"Ake brings so much more than just options in defence; he's remarkably consistent, always a minimum of seven out of 10, he's a natural leader and a different option to Gvardiol in what he brings at left-back.
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Big-game player Ake "would have started against Arsenal"
Gvardiol would have been a strong contender to start on the left side of defence against Brentford regardless of Ake's availability, but McInerney believes that the Dutchman would have been given the nod to play against title rivals Arsenal on September 22.
"For me, as a City fan, Nathan Ake would have started against Arsenal. He's played against [Bukayo] Saka so many times and has been absolutely brilliant. He's such a wonderful one-on-one defender that it is a blow (for him to be injured).
"Josko Gvardiol is so much more composed and creative going forward than Nathan Ake, but if you've got a big game against a title rival, Nathan Ake starts every single time. It's not a coincidence that City's treble-winning defence was built on solidity and experience, and Ake and Akanji and the likes were a big part of that.
"I do think that with Ake (potentially) being out for a few months, [City] will get over it, but it is a blow, especially giving the quality of the teams that we've got coming up."
Prior to the international break, Ake only made one substitute appearance and played just three minutes of Premier League football for Man City at the start of this season, while Gvardiol started in each of the club's opening three matches alongside fellow defenders Dias, Akanji and Lewis.
Guardiola's men currently sit top of the Premier League table with a maximum nine points after beating Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United in August, securing a 3-1 victory over the latter in their most recent match a fortnight ago.
After facing Brentford, Man City will begin their Champions League campaign at home to Inter Milan next Wednesday, before concluding the month of September with games against Arsenal, Watford (in the EFL Cup) and Newcastle United - fixtures that Ake could be sidelined for.
