Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer believes John Stones’ injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Reds' title rivals Manchester City this season.
Pep Guardiola is dealing with the headache of an injury crisis at the heart of Manchester City’s defence and is slowly running out of options at the moment, as he aims to not let Liverpool extend their five-point lead at the top of the table.
Aymeric Laporte has been ruled out for five to six months due to a serious knee injury and Stones has also picked up an injury during training and is out for five weeks.
With Vincent Kompany leaving the club in the summer, Guardiola has few options in his squad and has been tipped to slot Fernandinho alongside Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of his side’s side defence.
However, former Liverpool star McAteer feels it could be a blessing in disguise for Manchester City as their defence has been problematic and Stones has been part of their issues.
The former midfielder said on LFC TV following Liverpool's loss at Napoli: “I think it's a blessing actually.
“I think that's [the centre of defence] been the weakest spot for Man City for a couple of seasons now.”
Manchester City’s patched together defence will have their first test at Shakhtar Donetsk tonight in the Champions League, before they resume Premier League duty with a home game against Watford.
