The Premier League title contenders have been preparing to face Leeds United at Elland Road this weekend.
Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku was not spotted in training this week and remains a doubt for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Leeds United.
Doku has missed City’s last six games across all competitions after picking up a calf injury during a 2-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray. Speaking ahead of last weekend’s game against Newcastle, manager Pep Guardiola simply said his speedy winger was ‘not ready’ for that clash.
While a potential return date has never been mentioned by Guardiola, there was some hope Doku could be involved at Elland Road on Saturday. But based on pictures published by City, the Belgian was not involved in training earlier this week.
City published a gallery of training pictures on Wednesday evening from their latest session, with Doku not pictured or spotted in the background. The Manchester club may have opted to keep their cards close to their chest regarding the 23-year-old but based on the pictures, he remains a major doubt for Saturday.
Another recent City absentee was in the gallery, with young defender Max Alleyne pictured doing some gym work. The 20-year-old was not in the squad against Newcastle last weekend after picking up a knock during his side’s FA Cup win over Salford City.
It looks like Alleyne should be back fit and available, but whether he makes the squad at Elland Road is another matter. The recent return to fitness of fellow, more senior centre-backs means a younger talent like the former Watford loanee could miss out.
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Two longer-term City absentees were also not pictured in training, with Croatian pair Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic both set to miss out on Saturday. Gvardiol suffered a tibial fracture in January while Kovacic is sidelined with an ankle injury.
Leeds, meanwhile, will be without Noah Okafor this weekend after the winger suffered a hamstring injury at Birmingham City earlier this month. Daniel Farke initially revealed the Swiss international was looking at two-to-four weeks out and was guaranteed to miss Aston Villa and City.
Farke will provide an update on Okafor today as well as Gabriel Gudmundsson. The left-back was taken off at half-time against Villa last weekend, albeit injury concerns were quickly allayed when the Whites boss said it was an illness.
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