Manchester City’s USA pre-season tour plans disrupted by training ground sickness bug

Some members of the Manchester City squad have been told to ‘rest at home’ after a sickness bug has spread around Pep Guardiola’s returning squad this week.

The Premier League champions have welcomed back a significantly limited first-team presence to their training base this week, with many of the club’s stars still away on their eligible holidays and breaks after contesting at the European Championships.

Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish are among the most well-known faces to have returned to duties with Pep Guardiola at the City Football Academy, whilst there is a strong presence of Academy starlets and promising first-team prospects on show too.

Manchester City are expected to finalise their squad roster in the coming days for the upcoming four-match tour of the United States spread across late July and into early August, but fresh developments from the training camp could now cause complications.

According to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ on X, Pep Guardiola’s squad have been struck by a bug/virus around the camp upon their return to training at the City Football Academy this week.

It is explained that some members of the returning contingent have now been told to ‘rest at home’ if they want to have a chance of making the travelling Manchester City squad for the upcoming tour of the United States.

At present, it remains unknown as to which members of the Manchester City inner circle have been affected by the virus, and to what extent the severity of the sickness bug is. However, details of the club’s confirmed squad for the trip to the USA are expected on Friday.

Manchester City’s chartered flight for the trip to the east coast of the United States arrived at Manchester Airport on Thursday afternoon, with the airliner the same as that used for last season’s jaunt to far-east Asia.

Away from the players already in training at the City Football Academy, Manchester City are only expected to welcome Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic, with the remainder of the club’s Euro 2024 and Copa America stars staying clear of pre-season action.

Conversations are set to be held in the coming days over the return dates of those competing in the final of the aforementioned competitions, with Julian Alvarez now competing with Argentina at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden, and Rodrigo could all miss City’s FA Community Shield encounter with Manchester United at Wembley Stadium early next month, with the club keen to ensure that they receive the best rest possible ahead of another gruelling campaign.