‘He’s struggling’ – Fresh Man City injury update emerges on ‘world-class’ star before Arsenal

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden is ‘struggling’ in the race to be fit for the FA Cup game vs Arsenal on Friday, according to Pep Guardiola.

The England international did not make the squad for Sunday’s 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez started in support of hat-trick hero Erling Braut Haaland.

Prior to Sunday’s match, Foden was an unused substitute in the champions’ 4-2 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, having only lasted 57 minutes of the Manchester derby defeat to Manchester United on January 14.

Speaking to the media after Sunday’s win over Wolves, Guardiola revealed that Foden had sustained an issue with his foot during a clash with Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Old Trafford.

As a result, the 22-year-old is uncertain for the visit of Arsenal to the Etihad at the end of this week, with Guardiola saying: “It was an action in Old Trafford, jam with [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka.

“When he falls down he has a problem in his feet. He’s struggling so far. Painful, two or three days rest, gets better, then down. We decide with the doctors to stay to recover well.

“We will see if he arrives to Arsenal, if he’s not fit we wait until the next game at Spurs. Otherwise, he doesn’t train well, he’s a bit uncomfortable. That’s why we decide with the doctors to have two or three days off and see if he gets better.”

Guardaiola was happier with his side’s performance on Sunday compared to Thursday’s display against Tottenham Hotspur, after which he criticised his players in an extraordinary rant.

Asked if he’d seen an improvement, the former Barcelona manager replied: “Yeah, it is getting better but just one day, I have to wait.

“The way we play was quite similar to the first half where we were losing 2-0 to Spurs, our football was really, really good but it was 2-0. Today we improved but it was just today. We will see what happens in the next games.

“It was recovery day after, the guys who didn’t play, they train really well,” Guardiola added, on the response from his players since Thursday. “We talk a little bit to see what we have to do with the ball, without the ball we don’t train anything. I didn’t want to waste energy in the training session. We talk a little bit these what I think we missed. Now the message is clear: just one game. We have to see in the future.”