The Citizens were left six points behind leaders Arsenal after conceding a 94th-minute equaliser at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (04.01.26), with centre-backs Ruben Dias, 28, and Josko Gvardiol, 23, both forced off in the second half.
Speaking to the BBC, Guardiola said of Dias and Gvardiol: “Apparently, it doesn’t look good, we will see tomorrow. I think they will be on the sidelines for a few weeks.
“When you have all the squad, you can compete and rotate but now it is a situation.”
Dias, and Gvardiol were both withdrawn as City’s defensive options were stretched to the limit.
With the pair off, the manager was forced to finish the match with 21-year-old centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov and defender Nathan Aké, 30, at the heart of his back line.
Chelsea took advantage late on, with midfielder Enzo Fernández, 24, scoring in stoppage time to cancel out Tijjani Reijnders’, 27, first-half opener.
The equaliser came after City had missed several chances to kill the game, particularly on the counter-attack.
Gvardiol was helped off just six minutes into the second half after a challenge from right-back Malo Gusto, 22, appearing to injure his right ankle.
Dias, meanwhile, limped off nine minutes from time but was able to walk unaided, raising some hope his injury may be less severe.
The problems come on the back of further setbacks, with midfielder Nico González, 24, and winger Savinho, 21, both injured in the recent draw at Sunderland and unavailable against Chelsea.
City are now facing a punishing run of fixtures, with nine matches scheduled this month alone.
Guardiola said: “I cannot change the schedule. I have no idea if it will change our plans in January.”
There were some positives, however, as defensive midfielder Rodri, 29, started for the first time since October following a long injury lay-off, while winger Jérémy Doku, 23, made another substitute appearance as he continues his return to fitness.
Despite the late setback, Guardiola was pleased with City’s overall display.
He said: “Chelsea is a world champion team. Top-class players. To have control for 90 minutes against a team like that is so difficult.
“We missed chances in the second half, four or five actions of two versus one or three versus two. Our talented players tried to finish the game, but we could not do that.
“In general, how we defend, how we run, how we play, was extraordinary.”
