The international break comes at just the right time for Manchester City, who are currently dealing with a multitude of injuries. There are so many fitness concerns that we’ll have to break it up into two different articles. Part one discusses the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Phil Foden, Savinho, Marcus Bettinelli and Abdukodir Khusanov, all of whom could be back in action for the next game, which is the first Manchester derby of the season.
Part two covers Rayan Cherki, Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips, the longer-term absentees.
We got a lot to cover, so let’s just dive right in.
Josko Gvardiol
“Little Pep” was left out of the Croatia squad for this international period, due to an unspecified knock. Very little information is out there on this, but it is thought to be minor, so he could be contention to play on the 14th.
Phil Foden
The English winger has recovered from an ankle injury, but he was not passed as fully match fit for the Brighton loss. He was left out of the Three Lions squad for this FIFA window, and with the added recovery time, he’s expected to be 100% for the derby.
Savinho
Another attacking midfielder who was not called up for his country this time around, Savio is still recovering from an unspecified preseason injury. Again, information on this is intentionally being kept quite covert, so we can’t say for sure, but he’s expected to be available for the rivalry clash against United.
Marcus Bettinelli
Far down the goalkeeping depth chart, he’s not expected to be called upon, but he might not be available even if he is. Bettinelli is dealing with with a knock.
Abdukodir Khusanov
The Uzbek central defender missed out on Sunday, with a knock, but according to manager Pep Guardiola, he’s ultimately fine.
“Khusa can handle it because he is so fast, but unfortunately, he had a knock, a kick,” Pep said on Sunday. “And he had problems in muscular and that’s why he could not continue. I think [he] is fine.”
He also did not go on international duty this period, so he should be fine to feature.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter