Manchester City receive major double injury boost as 25-man squad spotted in training ahead of Juventus clash

Pep Guardiola has received a double boost to his first-team selection options ahead of the meeting with Juventus in the UEFA Champions League this week.

It is a mammoth week for the Premier League champions as they look to remain competitive across multiple competitions after a hugely challenging last two months for the club in terms of results on the pitch.

In the Premier League, City endured a four-game losing streak before bouncing back with a 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest, only to succumb to a 2-2 draw away to Crystal Palace in the very next match to lose ground on leaders Liverpool.

As for the UEFA Champions League, City desperately need to get back to winning ways having lost 4-1 away to Sporting in Lisbon, and throwing away a three-goal lead at home to Feyenoord to draw 3-3 with the Dutch side on matchday four.

Manchester City will as such be requiring a strong compliment of players to get them through a rough patch of results on the pitch, and this week has seen just that with Pep Guardiola welcoming back two much-needed faces to his squad selection options.

That follows the open training session in front of the media at the club’s City Football Academy training centre on Tuesday morning, with a 25-man contingent spotted in the first 15 minutes of the session in front of broadcast media.

25-man Manchester City squad in training

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson, Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Seb Naylor, Josko Gvardiol

Midfielders: Mateo Kovacic, Jacob Wright, Nico O’Reilly, Michael Okeke, Ilkay Gundogan, James McAtee, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Matheus Nunes

Forwards: Savinho, Divin Mubama, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku

Guardiola welcomed back Phil Foden to his squad in training after the England international missed the club’s last two Premier League outings against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace through bronchitis.

Elsewhere and Mateo Kovacic also returned to the squad after almost a month ruled out through an injury sustained during the international break in November with Croatia, significantly boosting Guardiola’s midfield options.

Rico Lewis continued to train as normal following his red card at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, with the full-back available for selection against Juventus despite being suspended for next weekend’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.

That leaves a total of five players ruled out through their respective fitness and injury problems, with Guardiola expected to offer updates on some players during his pre-match press conference ahead of the meeting with Juventus on Wednesday night.

Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and John Stones all remained absent from Manchester City training on Tuesday morning, joining longer-term absentees in Oscar Bobb and Rodri on the treatment table at the Premier League champions.