Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has played down Kyle Walker's chances of being fit for the Citizens' Champions League quarter-final first leg with Real Madrid next week.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man has been absent from the Citizens' last two matches on account of the thigh injury he sustained during England's friendly with Brazil last month.
City have taken four points from a possible six against Aston Villa and Arsenal with Walker watching on in the medical bay, where Nathan Ake (calf) and Ederson (thigh) also reside.
Speaking to the media prior to the 4-1 beating of Villa on Wednesday night, Guardiola revealed that Man City's doctors have ruled out the possibility of Walker taking on the La Liga leaders on April 9, but the 33-year-old is still holding out hope of an appearance.
"The doctors says no but Kyle is Kyle, he has a special genetic. The doctor said to me it was quite serious, but I said Kyle is Kyle," the Manchester Evening News quotes Guardiola as saying.
How big a blow would Walker's absence be?
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England's friendly with Brazil last month ought to have been a tune-up for a fascinating individual battle at the Bernabeu between City captain Walker, and Real's effervescent winger Vinicius Junior.
The pair had already engaged in a much-anticipated one-on-one during last year's semi-finals, and Vinicius hailed Walker as the best defender he has ever played against after Brazil's beating of the Three Lions at Wembley.
The ex-Spurs man may be celebrating his 34th birthday next month, but his outstanding pace and defensive awareness have not abandoned him, while he has also chipped in with a trio of assists in 38 matches this term.
It was not all that long ago that Guardiola claimed that Walker could not play in his new City system, as John Stones and Joao Cancelo found success as inverted full-backs, but the latter's falling-out with his manager offered Walker route back into the team on a regular basis.
The Citizens captain - who took on armband duties after Ilkay Gundogan's exit - has certainly repaid Guardiola's renewed faith in him, and his likely absence from the Bernabeu first leg would be a massive setback to the champions' chances of gleaning an early advantage.
Who could replace Walker against Real Madrid?
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With Walker almost certain to miss out on a place in the starting lineup in the Spanish capital, Guardiola could be working with just the one recognised right-back next week in the shape of 19-year-old Rico Lewis.
While not as intimidating physically at just 5ft 6in tall, Lewis has already proven his worth to Guardiola in the 2023-24 Champions League, starting five of the Citizens' group games and the second leg of their last-16 win over Copenhagen.
The Vinicius test will no doubt be the toughest one that Lewis has faced in his embryonic City career, though, and Guardiola may decide to gamble on one of two more imposing options for the first leg.
Manuel Akanji started the draw with Arsenal at right-back before moving centrally due to Ake's injury, while Stones was once again on the bench for the visit of Villa and is seemingly pushing to be fully fit for the first leg, but it may still be deemed too soon for the Englishman to return to the first XI.
Ben Knapton
