Man City suffer another injury blow as Pep Guardiola rules out Nathan Ake 'for a long time' after limping off in FA Cup clash against Plymouth

Pep Guardiola says Nathan Ake will be out injured "for a long time" after being forced out of Manchester City's FA Cup win over Plymouth Argyle.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• Ake limps off against Plymouth
• Man City's defensive issues grow
• Guardiola issues update on Dutchman

• Table of Contents

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Dutch defender Ake started in his side's 3-1 win over Plymouth on Saturday but he did not return for the second half, with Ruben Dias replacing him. After the fifth-round FA Cup victory, manager Guardiola said they will "miss" Ake, while being grateful the club signed defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov in January – else they would be short in their backline.

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  WHAT PEP GUARDIOLA SAID

  He told reporters: "Now again we have a central defender out for a long time, I think we'll miss Nathan. I'm so grateful to the club to bring [Abdukodir] Khusanov and Vitor [Reis] otherwise we have no chance to qualify for the Champions League next season or fight for the FA Cup. Impossible! We would just have [Ruben] Dias."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  City are currently without centre-backs John Stones and Manuel Akanji due to injury, and talismanic midfielder Rodri has been sidelined for months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. To lose Ake as well is a big blow in their bid to win the FA Cup and to qualify for next season's Champions League.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  City will hope their new backline will be fit and firing when they travel to Nottingham Forest next Saturday in the Premier League.