Manchester City appear to have received a significant boost as four key players returned to training ahead of the weekend’s clash with Tottenham.
The reigning Premier League champions have recently been battling an injury crisis which has been a major factor behind a huge dip in form which has seen them lose four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since 2006.
This is the worst losing streak in Pep Guardiola’s illustrious managerial career. They fell five points behind top-flight leaders Liverpool and slipped to 10th in the new Champions League table and exited the Carabao Cup at the last game. 16th stage in the hands of Tottenham.
City face a quick reunion with Spurs at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night as the Premier League resumes following the final international break of 2024 and the club’s nightmarish injury situation finally appears to be improving ahead of this high-profile home showdown .
According to Fabrizio Romano and photos released by the club, Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji were all taking part in training on Wednesday.
De Bruyne has made just two late appearances as a substitute in the defeats to Sporting Lisbon and Brighton since returning from a two-and-a-half month absence with a thigh problem, but he will hope to play a part most importantly against Tottenham after making himself unavailable for struggling in Belgium’s recent Nations League double-header with Italy and Israel.
He was joined in action at the Etihad campus on Wednesday by John Stones, who has missed the last three matches with a foot problem and played no part for England in their last matches under the captaincy. interim manager Lee Carsley against Greece and the Republic of Ireland as they secured promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.
Fellow Stones centre-back Manuel Akanji was also back in training, reinforcing an unusually shifty defense which has conceded 10 goals in four successive defeats.
Akanji withdrew from the Swiss squad for the matches against Serbia and Spain after a groin problem, but now appears to have recovered from his injury.
Grealish, meanwhile, has not played for City since the dramatic 2-1 win over Wolves on October 20 and his first call-up to England’s latest squad drew an exasperated response from Guardiola.
City hope to have all four players available to play a role against Tottenham, while it remains to be seen whether any of their other injured stars will be in contention for the weekend.
Phil Foden also withdrew from the latest England squad due to a knock, while his compatriot Jeremy Doku withdrew from the Belgian squad with a thigh problem and Ruben Dias did not not played since the Carabao Cup defeat to Spurs due to a calf problem which kept him out. with Portugal.
Matheus Nunes and Nathan Ake have also been injured in recent times, while Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb is not expected to return from surgery on a fractured leg until the new year.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is still months away from returning from a serious ACL injury suffered in September, but has insisted he hopes to play again this season with the FIFA World Cup Expanded clubs looming this summer.