Injury Boost for Manchester City as Players Train Ahead of Chelsea Showdown

Manchester City’s season has been threatened by injuries as some key players have missed important games so far. The Sky Blues were expected to continue the success achieved in the last two campaigns by winning another Premier League title this term. However, injuries have hampered the team as players like Leroy Sane, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, John Stones as well as Rodrigo, Ederson and David Silva have spent time on the sidelines.

That is almost a full match day squad of players.

The situation has left manager Pep Guardiola with a selection headache on numerous occasions as he tries to plug the gaping holes in the squad. Fortunately, some of those players have returned to fitness ahead of the game against Chelsea. All of Ederson, David Silva and Rodri are now available for selection. The former duo has resumed training, a development which will delight both their manager and City fans at large.

Rodri was away with the Spanish national team during the international break as was Mendy. The Frenchman even featured for France against Albania and is set to return to action against Chelsea. Stones is fit and should start against Frank Lampard’s resurgent side. Whether Guardiola chooses to use Fernandinho as his partner at the heart of defence or recalls Nicolas Otamendi to the starting XI remains to be seen. The Argentine has been out of form lately, but also needs game time to regain it.

At a time when Liverpool are running away with the league title so early in the season, having a fit squad will be very important for City. Unfortunately, Sane and Laporte are still far from making a return as the duo is expected between February and March. Zinchenko is still not ready as he recovers from a knee problem. The Ukrainian is expected to be out until December.

However, with some of the players back, the team should be fine. Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling returned from the break healthy. That is very important as City will not have Bernardo Silva to call upon for the encounter due to his one-game ban.