Pep Guardiola has now shared more good news for Manchester City in addition to Erling Haaland returning to action.
The 53-year-old made the comments when speaking in his press conference earlier on Tuesday.
So, what did Pep Guardiola say? Let’s take a look…
Guardiola shares more good news for Manchester City fans
Well, if Haaland returning to action was not enough, the Spaniard also confirmed that Manuel Akanji is back to full fitness.
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola said: “Manu (Akanji) is back. He trained yesterday and doesn’t feel anything in his knee, it is really good news.”
The Switzerland international missed the 3-2 win over Newcastle and also the 1-0 FA Cup victory against Tottenham, after suffering a knee injury in the 5-0 win over Huddersfield at the start of January.
According to The Times, the injury meant Akanji was the only player unable to take part in Manchester City’s warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Now – however – the Manchester City No.25 is back, which is fantastic news for Guardiola.
Who could drop out as Haaland and Akanji return?
Akanji and Haaland both started for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final, with Guardiola clearly believing the pair belong in his starting XI.
Therefore, we would expect two players to now be dropped.
In our view, Haaland will replace either Julian Alvarez or Oscar Bobb from the XI who started against Tottenham on Friday, with the Argentine potentially moving out wide on the left if the 20-year-old is dropped.
The decision regarding Akanji is a little trickier, as Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias both performed superbly against Spurs – therefore, Guardiola may actually choose to wait, rather than disturb a settled backline.
Having said that, the Swiss star has been used in midfield at times this season, so that is another possibility.
Whatever happens, it is great for Manchester City to have two incredible talents back available once again.
