Arsenal and Manchester City play Champions League and FA Cup quarter-final ties before the Premier League title race continues, following their Carabao Cup final
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have a shrinking injury list compared to Mikel Arteta at Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
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Manchester City could have an almost fully fit squad when the Premier League title race resumes for them against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Josko Gvardiol is their only long-term absentee after fracturing his right tibia three months ago. However, the Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti claims he is due back in May for City's final few matches of the season and in time for this summer's World Cup.
John Stones and Ruben Dias are Pep Guardiola's only other doubts. Dias missed the Carabao Cup final win with a hamstring issue, while Stones sustained a minor calf injury while training with England.
City's injury list pales in comparison to the length of their title rivals Arsenal. As many as a dozen of their players did not feature in photos from their training session on Friday.
Mikel Merino is the only long-term absentee and appears unlikely to feature in any of their remaining fixtures. The Spain international seems on course for a return in June and could be fit enough to represent his country at the World Cup.
The other 11 should be back at some stage in April. Eberechi Eze looks like the most seriously injured of that group with a calf problem and faces a race to be fit for Arsenal's visit to Etihad Stadium on 19 April.
Noni Madueke and Piero Hincapie will also miss at least their FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton after being ruled out by Mikel Arteta. Both sustained injuries while playing in international friendlies for their countries.
Hincapie's hamstring issue is serious, according to Arteta, while he believes Madueke's latest knee injury will only keep him out for a matter of days. Therefore, the winger could conceivably be back for their Champions League quarter-final first leg versus Sporting, or, if not, for their next Premier League match against Bournemouth.
Arteta also acknowledged that Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard are in contention to feature against Southampton as they recover from groin and knee injuries, respectively. However, they were among the group not seen in training
The other six senior absentees were Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Zubimendi and William Saliba. All of them withdrew from their respective international squads because of injury.
Saliba did not join up with France due to an ankle issue, while fellow centre-back Gabriel also did not represent Brazil after reporting a knee problem. A hip complaint also kept Trossard from going on duty with Belgium.
Rice and Saka both joined up late with England before pulling out with knocks. Zubimendi withdrew from the Spain squad because of a knee issue after featuring in their first friendly.