John Stones goes off injured minutes into England’s clash with Belgium, days before Man City face Arsenal in a critical Premier League title clash

John Stones has gone off injured in the opening moments of England’s game against Belgium, just days before the Man City star was due to face a key league game.

Manchester City play Arsenal on Sunday, which is pivotal in the race to the Premier League title, but he lasted less than 10 minutes at Wembley before being replaced by Joe Gomez.

While the fact that Stones walked off will be reassuring in the short-term, there will be concerns over the defender’s availability ahead of a crucial run of club games for the Man City stalwart. 

He had played all 90 minutes of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil, but was not able to play a significant part in Tuesday’s game at Wembley.  

Manchester City were handed a boost with Kyle Walker avoiding a serious hamstring injury during the Brazil game, with Pep Guardiola’s side ‘hopeful’ that he would be fit for the crunch tie against Arsenal.

Manchester City host Arsenal in an important Premier League title decider on Sunday evening

The Etihad will play host to Man City and Arsenal at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon, with the current leaders travelling to the third-placed Citizens.

Arsenal have 64 points, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with Guardiola’s men just a point behind the two. 

Man City face a daunting schedule over the coming weeks, with eight matches penned in for April, including their Champions League quarter-final matches with Real Madrid home and away, and an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.

More to follow…  

Stones played all 90 minutes against Brazil, but was forced to head off early against Belgium

Stones signalled that he felt something after playing an awkward pass during the friendly