MANCHESTER, England -- Kyle Walker could miss Manchester City's Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, but John Stones is ready to continue in his place.
Walker, 28, missed Saturday's 5-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday with a muscle problem, and Stones could keep the right-back role he filled against the Clarets.
"He can't play winger, attacking midfielder or striker -- no way," Pep Guardiola joked when asked about Stones' versatility.
"I think it's good for the young players like John Stones that they learn to play in different positions.
"It helps him become more intelligent, to understand the game more, and he has more chances to play regularly because the manager needs him in other positions.
"He can play different positions and that is good for him, because we cannot forget he is only 24. He has a long career in front of him."
Guardiola said he hoped Walker would be able to play against Shakhtar, adding that he had not wanted to "take a risk" by using him against Burnley.
Meanwhile, City captain Vincent Kompany hailed Stones, saying: "He's an intelligent player with so much ability on the ball.
"I've seen him improve in the last few years, I'm really pleased to see how he's developing. He's a top, top centre half already, but he's an even better one in the making. It's exciting.
"You look around, football managers changing formations all the time, you can't make more than three changes so you need to have players on the pitch who have flexibility -- and John epitomises that."
City have conceded just three goals in their opening nine Premier League games as they top the table on goal difference and Saturday's clean sheet was their fifth in succession -- a better run than any during last season's title win.
"The clean sheet is so important but the most important is how many chances we concede," Guardiola added. "Anfield it was almost one, [against Burnley] we didn't concede a shot on target.
"They had one clear chance but after that we were solid. You can't win games if you're not solid.
"We're just nine games in, but this is the way we want to keep going. The Champions League is a different competition -- we dropped three points [against Lyon]. Every game is a final, and we are going to play in Donetsk like a final."