Your first point might be correct but I think we've had more players at a couple of major tournaments than other top clubs and we rely on a smaller squad.
As to what they'll be like in early April and after next summer, I think the answer is "fucked" or "even more fucked" if we continue with a small squad of ageing players some of whom are injury-prone.
I absolutely believe that our squad has more reasons to be “exhausted” than pretty much any other. I’d say there’s no doubt about that as far as English teams are concerned.
I also think that the current injury crisis is a product of that; it is a more likely reason than unfortunate coincidence (bad luck, although that will play a part).
Is the age of the squad part of the issue? In some cases, it could be.
Is this existential injury crisis City’s main problem? I think so.
I don’t think a fully fit squad loses four-in-a-row.
That doesn’t mean the squad rebuilding of recent times has been as good as it could have been and the next few transfers could be very important.
On the transfer / squad front, I was convinced in the summer that we needed to expand the squad (with quality players, of course) so that players could be rested more and to get ahead of the squad transition that has to come due to the wonderful players whose age means they will have to be replaced sooner rather than later.
I also wonder whether the club could have been more aggressive in the market and used its financial power to apply knock-out blows to certain transfer deals; that might be easier said than done.
