Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho ruled out of Arsenal trip

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho will miss Thursday's [1 February] Premier League clash against Arsenal due to the hamstring injury suffered in the Carabao Cup final.

Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola meet again at the Emirates just five days on from the Gunners' harrowing 3-0 defeat at Wembley that saw the City boss claim his first piece of silverware in England.

Fernandinho was forced off after 52 minutes in that win, with Ilkay Gundogan forced to drop into a deeper midfield role to fill the void for the remainder of the match.

In the aftermath of Sunday's [26 February] final, the Independent reported the Brazil international is poised to miss two key games for City – the return to London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates before the visit of Chelsea on Sunday.

City have confirmed their midfielder will be absent on Thursday with no indication as to whether he will be ready for Antonio Conte's side.

A short statement from City read: "The Brazilian was withdrawn after 52 minutes of City's Wembley win but thankfully the initial prognoses suggests the problem isn't serious. No timescale has yet been set for his return but the Premier League game against the Gunners on Thursday will come too soon."

Fernandinho has started 26 of City's 27 league matches but his injury will leave Guardiola somewhat light for the trip to north London, with defensive midfield perhaps the one area of his team where he does not have adequate cover.

Fabian Delph, who has spent much of the season playing at left-back to replace the injured Benjamin Mendy, would have been a candidate for the role but a straight red card shown in the FA Cup defeat to Wigan Athletic means he is suspended for City's next two games.

Guardiola will have an otherwise fully fit squad to choose from on Thursday with Gabriel Jesus marking his return in Sunday's final after almost two months out injured.