Pep Guardiola believes that fatigue has played a big part in the number of injuries that Manchester City and other Premier League clubs have had this season.

Pep Guardiola believes fatigue is a big reason why Manchester City and other Premier League teams have many injuries this season he spoke before the match against Newcastle on Saturday at 15:00 UK time he said Manuel Akanji will be out for eight to ten weeks because of an injury he got against Real Madrid

This is another injury problem for City this season Jack Grealish is also not likely to play against Newcastle because he had to leave the field early during the 3-2 Champions League loss many other teams also have injuries Guardiola said only changing the football calendar can help

He said injuries happen every season but this season is worse he said this is not just a problem for Manchester City other clubs like Tottenham and Arsenal also have many injuries only Liverpool has been stable in this area Real Madrid and other teams also have problems he said when players keep playing season after season their bodies get tired and say enough is enough

Guardiola said the solution to prevent injuries is to change the football schedule he said he and Jurgen Klopp have talked about this before he said there is no other reason for so many injuries

Because of many injuries City cannot always use the same players in every match some players have played too many minutes and they are very tired Guardiola also said losing important matches in the last moments has been difficult for the team he said he usually changes players often but this season has been hard because many players are not available he said the players who play a lot are very tired both physically and emotionally

He said losing a match like 5-1 against Arsenal is easier to accept than losing in the last moments against Brentford Manchester United and Real Madrid these games were very hard for the team he said they know they are struggling but this can happen he said City has been playing well for eight or nine years but they are human and sometimes things go wrong

He said the team has not been consistent for many reasons especially injuries he said they do not have enough players for the number of matches they play and most players have played too many games

In the match against Madrid City started with Akanji as right-back and John Stones as a holding midfielder Guardiola said he has options for that position new signing Abdukodir Khusanov might also play there he said he also has Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes it depends on how the team plans to attack and defend he said he will decide later

Guardiola and his team know this season is difficult injuries have made it hard to keep a stable lineup tired players and tough losses have also affected them Guardiola believes the football schedule is the biggest problem he hopes changes can be made to help players in the future