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Josko Gvardiol suffered a tibial fracture at the start of 2026 and was out for five months
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Defender admits he turned down psychologiy treatment but understands how it can help
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Gvardiol has been named in Croatia’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad despite recent return to fitness
Josko Gvardiol has admitted a lot was going through his mind in his recent spell on the sidelines but that he is feeling good ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Gvardiol played 16 games in the 2025-26 Premier League season before suffering a tibial fracture on his right leg in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4.
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In the same match, Ruben Dias picked up a hamstring injury and subsequently missed the following four league games including a 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester United.
Gvardiol eventually returned to action; first a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace before featuring for 12 minutes on the final day of the season where John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Pep Guardiola said goodbye to the club.
City’s failure to win the Premier League could be put down to many things but injuries played a huge part in the club’s inability to recover from an increasing demand for games.
At the back end of the season, the Citizens were forced to play four games in 10 days, with the final one of those four, Bournemouth away, deciding the Premier League as Arsenal were crowned champions for the first time in 22 years.
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Gvardiol opened up in an interview, with comments covered by The Croatian on X, on his surgery and the general process of recovery, admitting that the club tried to arrange therapy for the defender before turning it down.
“It’s not my first surgery. It’s difficult for every player to be away from the pitch. The estimate was four to six months, and I shortened that as much as possible.
“That was my motivation, I worked even harder to return as soon as possible. I had the World Cup in my mind. The goal was to play a few matches, but above all my main objective was simply to come back.
Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol discusses Pep Guardiola departure as exit talk intensifies
“I’m feeling good. They tried to arrange conversations with psychologists for me, but I was convinced I didn’t need them. I knew what I was doing. It’s not that it would have been a bad thing, it could certainly help.”
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Gvardiol went into more detail about his recovery and claimed the most important thing was his first training session. He said: “In the second week there was already a rough challenge in training. I have three screws in my leg now so my right leg is stronger and studier than before.”
Despite his return coming very late in the season, Gvardiol was called up to the Croatia squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
