Pep Guardiola could not hide his disappointment that Manchester City are without a number of key personnel during their pre-season tour of the United States.
The Spaniard is without five first-team players for the club's training camp in America, with Phil Foden, John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan failing to meet US entry requirements. The trio have instead linked up with City's Under-23s for a trip to Croatia.
Elsewhere, Oleksandr Zinchenko is not present as he prepares to complete his transfer to Arsenal and centre-back Aymeric Laporte has missed out through injury. While Guardiola admits the situation is out of his hands, the Sky Blues boss feels that not having a full group ahead of the new campaign is a massive blow.
"Yes it’s disappointing, I would like them to be here," Guardiola said of his missing quintet, with City due to take on Liverpool in the Community Shield in just 10 days' time.
"Since our second season [2017/18], when we ended up with 100 points, that was the only season when we were all together. Since then, it’s always been four players arriving and then a week later another one. We started the season with incredible problems. Every year we drop points.
“This season, I thought maybe we will be all together but due to the personal situation of these players [that was not the case]. But it’s what it is, we are going to move forward and we have to adapt. Pre-season there can be three, four, five weeks but now it’s over. But they are fit, they are training with the Under-23s and they’ll come back and join us and they’ll be fine."
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City are yet to play a pre-season match this summer but will kick-off the first of two friendlies in the early hours of Thursday morning, taking on Mexican side Club America in Texas. On Sunday, Chelsea recorded a 2-1 win over the Mexican outfit.
The Premier League champions' other friendly comes on Sunday morning, with the Sky Blues facing German champions Bayern Munich in Wisconsin. They will then return to the United Kingdom for their Community Shield clash against Liverpool on Saturday, July 30 at Wembley Stadium.
That could see the Sky Blues’ new summer arrivals all make their official debuts for City. The six-time Premier League champions have already spent just shy of £100million this summer to land striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Borussia Dortmund and Leeds United respectively.
Guardiola’s side also have been boosted by the arrival of Argentine forward Julian Alvarez from River Plate. City signed him in January, but he spent the second half of last season on loan with his former club.
City are also reportedly in talks to sign Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella as a replacement for outgoing Ukrainian international Zinchenko.
