The Manchester City squad has been enjoying some time away from football this week. A rare opportunity for rest has come at the ideal time for Pep Guardiola’s squad. City has endured a hectic schedule over the past few months, and across that journey a host of City players have suffered injuries. Slowly but surely, City has had players come back from injury. John Stones has recently returned from a long injury layoff. Nico is also back after running himself into the ground for the cause from the end of November until January.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho are two other players whom City have missed due to injury. The pair look to be on the verge of returning, which is a huge boost for Manchester City ahead of a pivotal point in this season.
Manchester City could be boosted by the return of Jeremy Doku and Savinho.
Speaking after Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Salford City last weekend, Pep Guardiola was asked whether or not Jeremy Doku or Savinho were getting close to returning to the pitch. The Manchester City manager provided a positive update on the pair’s fitness. Speaking on Jeremy Doku, Pep Guardiola said: “*Jeremy is close. He still doesn’t train with us, but we will see. He’s a little better, but [against Salford] we needed wingers.*”
“*We know how important he is. It helps us a lot in how we play. I’m more than delighted with how we behave. Antoine has played a lot of minutes, if you make shifts with Doku, Semenyo, Savinho, the opponents defend in their box for 90 minutes.*”
Speaking on Savinho’s fitness, Pep Guardiola said: “*He’s been out for six weeks. He could [have played] a few minutes, but we didn’t want to take risks. Training two days ago was wow, so good. He’s close. Now we have a long week and players coming back.*”
Manchester City’s injury list is starting to dwindle.
The good news for Manchester City is that their injury list is starting to dwindle. Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol are City’s only two players who are out due to long-term injuries. However, Mateo Kovacic has returned to training recently, so the Croatian midfielder is on the comeback trail. After suffering an injury crisis of sorts throughout January, Pep Guardiola’s squad now has players returning and with that, depth. As the 2025/26 season enters a critical phase, Manchester City look to be hitting full strength in terms of the fitness of their squad. That could prove to be massive as the pressure of the 2025/26 season ramps up.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho returning would be massive for Manchester City. The pair would add depth and a different element to Manchester City’s attacking play, given their strengths as players. That is great news for Pep Guardiola’s side, and it remains to be seen if the pair will be available for Manchester City’s upcoming Premier League fixture against Newcastle United at the Etihad this weekend.