Manchester City will be hoping to move to within one point of Premier League leaders Liverpool when they face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening.
City, who crushed the Cherries in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in November, winning 6-1, will be looking to build on Tuesday night’s narrow 1-0 triumph over Brentford. Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the game to secure a return to winning ways for the Blues after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Chelsea three days earlier.
Ahead of the long trip south, MEN Sport has taken a careful look at the current injury situation, including the most recent update on midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne.
Gvardiol has missed City’s last three matches due to ankle ligament injuries. He was last included in a matchday squad against Everton on February 10, therefore he has missed the games against FC Copenhagen, Chelsea, and Brentford.
Fortunately, the Croatian is said to be making good progress in his recovery, and he could be ready for the derby against Manchester United on March 3. Guardiola acknowledged a little more than a week ago that he expected him to miss “two or three weeks.”
The Belgian international was chosen as a replacement for the midweek triumph against Brentford but did not take part in the pre-match warm-up. Guardiola, speaking after the game, stated that he was taking no chances with the midfielder and had sheltered him as a precaution after missing so much of the season with a hamstring injury.
However, he is in contention to face Bournemouth. Guardiola has confirmed that he trained this week and plans to travel.
Speaking to the media on Friday lunchtime, the City manager stated: “He’s fine, no injuries. I’m not sure if he’s 100 percent, but we made wise judgments not to take a risk.
“I know if the result was not good, people would ask why he didn’t play, but we made a decision because he didn’t feel comfortable. He trained the day following the match, and after we left yesterday, he came and trained by himself. We’ll see, but I’m fairly confident he’ll travel.”
Grealish was substituted after just over 20 minutes in the Champions League match against Copenhagen a week ago. Guardiola did not expect the injury to keep him out for an extended period of time, and he is said to be making good progress.
The England winger’s journey to Bournemouth comes too soon, but he, like Gvardiol, may be able to return in time for the Manchester derby in little over a week. It means he will most likely miss the midweek FA Cup match against Luton Town.
