MANCHESTER, England (AP) — 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.
Man City's defense was weakened again on Tuesday when Portugal center back Rúben Dias was confirmed to be out for up to six weeks with a hamstring strain, coach Pep Guardiola said.
Speculation has circulated City could target signing Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi, the England center back whose projected move to Liverpool four months ago fell through in the final hours of transfer deadline day.
Gvardiol and Dias were injured on Sunday in a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea that left the team trailing Premier League leader Arsenal by six points.
The 23-year-old Gvardiol “suffered a tibial fracture to his right leg,” City confirmed in a statement late Monday.
He will have surgery this week and City gave no timetable for his return.
Even without two key defenders, the 2023 European champion is well set to advance directly to the Champions League round of 16 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.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City's Ruben Dias, left, and Chelsea's Malo Gusto vie for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol, below, lies on the pitch after being injured alongside Erling Haaland during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, right, Josko Gvardiol after being substituted during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday without giving a reason for the departure as the United States wages a war against Iran.
Gen. Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.
The ouster, reported earlier by CBS News, is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year. Like many of those other firings, Pentagon officials are not offering a reason for George's departure, which comes nearly five weeks into U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and with no clear timeline from President Donald Trump on when the war may end.
George is a graduate of West Point Military Academy and an infantry officer who served in the first Gulf War as well as Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s top military aide from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration before taking on top leadership roles in the Army.
George made it through the initial round of firings under the Trump administration in February 2025, when Hegseth removed top military leaders, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim Slife, the No. 2 leader at the Air Force. Trump also fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Since then, more than a dozen other top military generals and admirals have either retired early or been removed from their posts.
Among these departures was George’s deputy, Gen. James Mingus, who was in the post of vice chief of staff of the Army for less than two years when Trump suddenly nominated Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve for the position. LaNeve was then serving as Hegseth’s top military aide, having been plucked for that post from commanding the Eighth Army in South Korea after less than a year in the job.
LaNeve will be stepping in as acting Army chief of staff, according to a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the move before it has been announced. It is a meteoric rise for an officer who was only a two-star general two years ago.
A spokesman for George could not be immediately reached for comment.
This story has been corrected to show that Gen. Jim Slife’s name was misspelled Silfe.
FILE - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George review troops during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)
FILE - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George review troops during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)
