Manchester City are already set to be without Riyad Mahrez for most of January - or all of it if he repeats his African Cup of Nations success from two years ago.
Now, though, they will also be preparing for another three key players to be absent at a crucial period of the season as CONMEBOL and CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers take place.
With the majority of City's players involved with European qualifiers, which concluded this week, there will be no international football for their UEFA players until March.
Some, like Aleks Zinchenko and the three Portuguese players, will have to contest play-offs to qualify for the World Cup, while others will presumably take part in friendlies after already securing qualification.
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