Man City receive injury boost ahead of Tottenham as five players return to training

Manchester City received a major injury boost on Wednesday with five players who have recently been struggling from knocks pictured in training.

Amid the team’s four-game losing streak, City have been dealing with a spate of injuries. There were concerns surrounding up to 12 players last week, but those worries have been eased somewhat.

Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes and Manuel Akanji all pulled out of their various international squads over the break but were among the group that trained at City’s CFA training base on Wednesday. The latter was an unused substitute in the 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion with Pep Guardiola revealing after the game that the defender ‘couldn't move properly and was therefore simply there to make up the numbers.

As for Foden and Nunes, there was no real concern about their availability, especially as they have both featured regularly over recent weeks - but their returns are encouraging, if expected.

John Stones was also part of the group having missed the last three matches before the break with plantar fasciitis, meaning City’s defensive numbers are already looking healthier.

The final notable inclusion in the session was Jack Grealish. The winger’s availability was something of a hot topic before the pause in club football as he was selected by England interim manager Lee Carsley despite not training in 17 days.

It certainly irked Guardiola, who claimed there had been no dialogue between the City and England medical teams. Carsley denied that accusation but did allow Grealish to return home early from international duty, and City’s no.10 could be back in action against Spurs this weekend.

Elsewhere, Nico O’Reilly, Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Kevin De Bruyne were spotted in City’s training gallery. Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku weren’t seen but that is not necessarily an indication that the trio are still injured.

Guardiola, who was spotted in the images, will likely provide an update on the fitness levels of his squad in Friday’s press conference. The Catalan is also expected to answer questions on his future amid reports that he has agreed a new contract extension.