Pep to lean on academy amid injury ’emergency’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is willing to lean on the talent emerging from the club’s academy with his squad hit by a number of injuries.

City suffered new health concerns in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in London, with Savinho stretchered off in tears after defender Manuel Akanji pulled up lame in the pre-game warmup.

Ballon d’Or winner Rodri had already been ruled out for the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the home draw with Arsenal on Sept. 22, while Kevin De Bruyne hasn’t played since the Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Sept. 18.

Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Jérémy Doku and Oscar Bobb were already on the injury list, while Guardiola said Rúben Dias has been playing through a problem. Guardiola said after the game on Wednesday that De Bruyne, Grealish and Walker wouldn’t be back until after the next international break.

Asked about availability for the team’s trip to Bournemouth in his news conference on Friday, Guardiola said: “Tomorrow you will see [who is available], I have many doubts, half and half.

“It happens in many clubs and we’re not the only club in the world to be going through it. There are a lot [of injuries] in certain departments and positions but it is what it is.”

“We are using them [the academy players] because we are in an emergency in certain positions but some of them, we trust them, like in the past,” Guardiola said when asked about the utility of of the club’s youth setup when bad injury luck striked.

“They help us, that’s why the academy is there … We don’t have other options, sometimes.”

Guardiola added that Savinho’s injury from the Spurs loss was not as serious as first feared, as the Brazil international did not sustain an ankle fracture in the incident.

The Catalan coach would not be drawn on whether the growing list of absentees would force his hand in the January transfer window.

“Maybe in January we will have all the players back, except Rodri,” Guardiola said. “When we are all together, the squad is enough, when completely focused and fit. For now we just have to try to recover players as quick as possible and then we will see.”

City travel to Bournemouth on Saturday before heading to Lisbon to face new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP on Tuesday.

Amorim is to remain with Sporting until the international break, officially beginning his tenure with Guardiola’s rivals on Nov. 11.