Gvardiol has broken leg and faces months out

Manchester City and Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol needs surgery this week for a fracture to his right leg and faces months out ahead of the World Cup. The 23-year-old Gvardiol “suffered a tibial fracture to his right leg” in the second half of a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the weekend, City confirmed in a statement late Monday. He will have surgery this week and City gave no timetable for his return.

City trails Premier League leader Chelsea by six points and is well set to advance directly to the round of 16 in the Champions League which resumes in March. The club is fourth in the 36-team standings with two league-phase games left this month at Bodo/Glimt and hosting Galatasaray. Croatia starts its World Cup group on June 17 against England at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Croatia then plays Panama in Toronto and Ghana in Philadelphia. Gvardiol is likely to miss Croatia’s visit to the United States in March for warmup games against Colombia and Brazil.