Man City suffer another injury blow minutes before Tottenham game kicks off

Manchester City suffered their latest injury blow minutes before kick-off against Tottenham.

Manu Akanji was named in the starting line-up to take on Spurs in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, only to suffer a calf injury in the warm-up. After checks by the medical staff, it was decided that Akanji would not be able to start the game and Ruben Dias came off the bench to play in his absence.

Akanji becomes the seventh first-team player to be sidelined for the Blues in a situation that Pep Guardiola has already described as unsustainable. Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Oscar Bobb are all injured, with no returns expected imminently.

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"If these guys doesn't come back as quick as possible we will struggle because we cannot sustain for with just 14 or 15 players so we need the players to come back but it is what it is," Guardiola said on Tuesday. "Hopefully that can happen after the international break."

Guardiola admitted that he had one eye on the Premier League game with Bournemouth at the weekend ahead of the Spurs match, but despite Erling Haaland and a few other senior stars being rested it was still an experienced team that kicked off against Tottenham.

If City do progress, the quarter-final will take place in December in the week between league games with Manchester United at home and Aston Villa away.