Silva says Man City absence due to premature birth of son


sbo
CAIRO – 3 January 2018: Manchester City midfielder David Silva says he missed the Premier League club's recent games to return home to Spain after the premature birth of his son Mateo. The 31-year-old has missed three of City's last five league games but captained the side to a 3-1 win over Watford on Tuesday. After the match, City manager Pep Guardiola said that he was unsure of Silva's participation in upcoming games. The former Barcelona boss underlined the importance of family, saying that Silva was free to miss future City matches to deal with his son's health issues. "I want to thank all of you for the love and good wishes received in the last few weeks," Silva said in a statement on his official Twitter account."Special thanks to my teammates, the manager and all at the club for understanding my situation. sbo