Manuel Akanji, a Manchester City player, has had to leave the Swiss international camp due to an injury. This could potentially make him unavailable for the upcoming match against Arsenal, the current Premier League leaders, on Easter Sunday. This match could be pivotal in determining the league champion.

Manchester City is already dealing with a number of injuries. Ederson, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jack Grealish are all either unavailable or have had to withdraw from their respective international duties this week. Additionally, Kyle Walker was injured during England’s match against Brazil on Saturday night.

Akanji, who was injured during a friendly match against Belgium, has further compounded Manchester City’s injury problems. The Swiss coach, Murat Yakin, confirmed Akanji’s injury ahead of their match against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night.

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Manchester City’s players are expected to return to club duties on Thursday, but there could be more bad news for their manager, Guardiola. Erling Haaland is scheduled to play in Norway’s second international match of the week against Slovakia. Haaland, who has had fitness issues this season, is a player that Guardiola would prefer to have back at Manchester City as soon as possible.

Haaland has previously shared a conversation he had with Guardiola, in which Guardiola expressed his frustration with injuries sustained during international duty. However, this was said in a somewhat lighthearted manner.

Guardiola commented last week that the players are no longer under his control during the international break, and he hopes they can handle the situation wisely.

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On a positive note, Portugal has allowed Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias to return early to manage their fitness. There are also reports that Walker could recover in time for the match on Sunday. Training photos from Monday showed De Bruyne and Grealish in training, raising hopes that they might be fit enough to play against Arsenal.

Currently, Manchester City is third in the Premier League, behind Liverpool and Arsenal. However, only one point separates the top three teams with ten games remaining.