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Manchester City injury crisis with De Bruyne, Stones, Fernandinho, Mendy missing for Watford clash

Manchester City's injury list is piling up with four players set to miss Saturday's clash with Watford.

Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones are both missing after limping off in Saturday's 1-0 win over Bournemouth, which saw them move back to the top of the table and are not expected back until after the international break.

The pair join Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho, who is expected to be out for a similar length of time after injuring his hamstring in the victory over Chelsea. Benjamin Mendy, who has played just 27 minutes in the past four months after a knee injury, is also not yet back with the first team but is in individual training.

However, Aymeric Laporte will be available. He was taken off at half-time in the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea with a hamstring injury, with City boss Pep Guardiola fearing he would be out until late March.

But the French defender was back with the first team squad that returned to full training on Wednesday after they were given a rare three days off.

Meanwhile, long-term absentee Fabian Delph is in full training and pushing for his first Premier League appearance this year.

After Saturday's match, City do not have another Premier League game until the trip to relegation-threatened Fulham on March 30.

They face Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday, leading 3-2 from the first leg in Germany, followed by Swansea City in the FA Cup before the international break.