Man City ‘will assist’ Rúben Dias following residential break-in – Pep Ljinders
Manchester City assistant coach Pep Lijnders has stated that the club is providing support to defender Rúben Dias following a burglary at the residence he shares with his partner, TV presenter Maya Jama, earlier this week.
Both were not present at the home during the incident; Dias, who is currently sidelined due to injury, was watching City’s Champions League match against Galatasaray on Wednesday, while Jama was working overseas.
Lijnders mentioned: “I haven’t spoken to him directly, but Rúben will return to team training on Monday.”
“These are the situations you wish to avoid. We will be there for him and see how things progress from here.”
Lijnders was addressing the media as Pep Guardiola was absent from City’s press conference for personal reasons on Friday, a day after he participated in a charity event in Barcelona to support Palestinian children.
The City manager was scheduled to conduct a lunchtime press briefing to preview the upcoming Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, but Lijnders stepped in for him.
City has not disclosed specifics regarding Guardiola’s absence, but he was anticipated to return to the UK on Friday and oversee training on Saturday as planned.
Lijnders stated: “The manager is well, as always, full of ambition and enthusiasm, but it is a personal issue. He will be back in Manchester today.”
Guardiola also missed a pre-match press conference last month due to a personal matter, with another member of his coaching staff, Kolo Toure, covering for him on that occasion.
Lijnders, who previously served as an assistant to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, had conducted media interviews on Guardiola’s behalf following City’s FA Cup third-round win over Exeter on January 10. Guardiola had observed that match from the stands while serving a touchline suspension.
Winger Jérémy Doku is now unavailable after sustaining a calf injury during the 2-0 victory over Galatasaray, which secured City’s place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Lijnders remarked: “It’s a similar injury to the previous one, which took 18 days to recover from. I expect this one to be slightly shorter, but we will see. Jeremy is a resilient player.”
– Laurens’ weekend preview: Will Spurs haunt title-chasing Man City again?
– Tottenham vs. Man City: TV channel, kick-off time, injury and team news
– Premier League table
City reduced Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to four points last weekend, and Lijnders is optimistic about maintaining pressure on the Gunners.
The Dutchman stated: “I have participated in several title races, and it always comes down to focusing on the next match.”
“You must win your own games, carve your own path, challenge yourselves to improve, and manage what you can control.”
“With this, you need to apply pressure, pursue, and stay close to them. They need to feel our presence, which is only achievable by winning matches.”
