There is positive news for Manchester City’s captain, who is nearing a return to full fitness, but Guardiola expects his young midfielder to be out for a while after picking up an injury against Leicester City.
“He’s [Foden] injured,” revealed the manager. “It’s not good.
“He will not be able to play [against Bournemouth].
“We were lucky with Raheem and Kevin De Bruyne in the last game against Spurs, really lucky.
“We were unlucky with Phil against Leicester.
“It’s a ligament. He’ll be out for a time.
“I accept that the referees have to be careful with the diving players, but they have to be careful to protect the players. That is the first target of the referees.”
On his skipper, Guardiola revealed he expects the Belgian defender, who has been unavailable since the Manchester derby victory, to be fit sooner rather than later.
However, the Cherries’ visit to the Etihad Stadium could come too early for him.
“He’s much better,” added Guardiola.
FIXTURES: THREE GAMES MOVED IN FEBRUARY.
“I think in the next days he will be ready.
“I don’t know if he will be ready for tomorrow. We will speak after the final training session and we will have to see.”
Pep is also unsure as to whether Silva will be available this weekend. The Spaniard has missed the last two games against Spurs and Leicester.
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling’s injury time strike sealed all three points when City travelled to the Vitality Stadium in August.
That win marked the start of the 16 game winning run the Blues have embarked on in the Premier League and the Guardiola believes the manner of the last gasp victory was particularly important at that period of the season.
“It was so important because we drew the game before against Everton at home,” he said.
“Nobody expected then that we would win 16 games in a row in that moment. It was so important because after that came the international break and after that came the game against Liverpool.
“It was so important, but so was the one against Southampton in the last second.
“When you are able to win a lot of games, some you win because you played much better and are able to win comfortably, in terms of the result.
“The other games you have to win in that situation. You cannot win all 16 games with a big gap of goals.
“We were lucky in that moment so hopefully tomorrow we can make a good game.”
