Ricardo Pereira came through his first appearance in four months unscathed to give Ruud van Nistelrooy an almost fully-fit squad to choose from against Manchester United.
Ricardo played the final few minutes of Leicester City’s defeat to Chelsea last week, his first outing since a serious hamstring injury in November.
With Ricardo fit and no further injuries to report, van Nistelrooy confirmed at his press conference on Friday that only winger Abdul Fatawu remains unavailable.
It means once again, as at Chelsea, four senior outfield players will have to miss out on Sunday (7pm kick-off). Jannik Vestergaard, Oliver Skipp, Kasey McAteer and Odsonne Edouard were the quartet to sit out the game at Stamford Bridge.
Van Nistelrooy’s vow to stick with the 5-2-1-2 formation he introduced at Chelsea means Ricardo may struggle to get into the starting line-up, but he’s a big boost to have in the squad either way, especially as he provides a plan B.
“He’s really good,” van Nistelrooy said of the Portuguese’s fitness. "We changed the structure in the last 10 minutes to push for a goal even more. He was an inverted full-back with his role in the midfield.
“He made us play forward and created some chances and dangerous situations. It was great to have him back. He’s experienced. He’s a great professional. He’s an example for our team. It’s a great addition to have.”
Van Nistelrooy will hope that having a fully-fit squad will help City claim a result over United, who will only have had a few days to prepare after their Europa League clash with Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
City go into the game having lost their last six home league matches and having failed to score in that run.
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