Pep Guardiola has stated that while he is pleased to welcome back two members of his Manchester City squad, they are unlikely to be involved heavily against Juventus.
The Premier League champions travel to Turin on matchday six of the UEFA Champions League hoping to improve their chances of automatic qualification for the last-16 stage with just three matches remaining.
Having sustained a shock 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP in Lisbon, City thought they had bounced back in style against Feyenoord taking a 3-0 lead against the Dutch side, only to concede three in the final 15 minutes and share the points at the Etihad Stadium.
Those two results made up a seven-game winless streak for the club which was ended through a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, only to succumb to a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Much of Manchester City’s difficulties have been put down to injury and fitness problems over the last few weeks and months, and they have been heightened by Mateo Kovacic’s absence from the defensive midfield ranks.
Rodri’s season-long absence complicated Pep Guardiola’s selection dilemmas at the base of his midfield trio, and Kovacic’s absence forced the Catalan into utilising the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis in the position to little success.
However, ahead of blockbuster clashes with Juventus and Manchester United this week, both Mateo Kovacic and Phil Foden – who has been absent recently through bronchitis – returned to training ground activities alongside the rest of their teammates.
Quizzed on whether either player could be heavily involved for Manchester City in Turin on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola told reporters at the Allianz Stadium, “I don’t think so.”
He continued, “Maybe a few minutes for (Mateo) Kova, but I don’t think so. But it’s nice to have them (Kovacic and Phil Foden) back here to the team, to the training sessions, and of course travel with us (to Turin, Italy).”
Both Kovacic and Foden were named in a 22-man squad confirmed by Manchester City on Tuesday evening, which also starred 17-year-old goalkeeping prospect Max Hudson who took the place of Scott Carson in the squad.
Absent from the roster was Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, with the latter expected to be out for ‘weeks’ as opposed to a few games, while John Stones also remains sidelined with a foot injury adding to long-term absentees in Rodri and Oscar Bobb.
22-man Manchester City travelling squad vs Juventus
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Max Hudson.
Defenders: Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Josh Wilson-Esbrand.
Midfielders: Jacob Wright, Nico O’Reilly, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Matheus Nunes, James McAtee, Phil Foden.
Forwards: Savinho, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland.