Manchester City have almost a fully fit squad ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday. The lone injury concern lies with Kyle Walker, who has developed a back issue, one severe enough to keep him out of training.
“He had a disturbance in his back,” manager Pep Guardiola said at his press conference today. “Yesterday [Monday] he was not good and today he was a little bit better.
UEFA Champions League Final FYIs
Kickoff: Sat June 10, 8pm, Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Team News: Inter Milan Manchester City
Starting XI Prediction: Inter Milan Manchester City
90 Min Result Probability: Inter Milan 14% Manchester City 66% Extra Time 20%
“We didn’t want to take a risk and we will see what happens in the next days.”
In other words, he’s a strong doubt for the big match in the Turkish capital. The back issues started for Kyle Walker in the 2-1 FA Cup Final win over Manchester United, where he had to subbed off in the final minute.
The statuses for the likes of Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish had all been somewhat questionable entering the big Manchester derby cup final this past Saturday.
However, all of them featured in the national stadium clash, and that means City now have a nearly fully fit squad as they go for the rarified air that is a treble. If they win here, they would complete the triple accomplishment and join their intra-city rivals United (1998-99) as the only English clubs to do so.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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.”
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