Manchester City are used to seeing several members of their squad feature on the international stage for their countries.
Now in the third international break of the 2024/25 season, numerous figures from Pep Guardiola’s ranks at the Etihad Stadium have been in action over the past couple of days.
For instance, Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis completed the full 90 minutes in England’s 3-0 win over Greece on the same day Ederson and Savinho featured in Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Venezuela.
After Friday’s round of international games, an update emerged regarding one of City’s key figures in their squad which will surely delight Guardiola.
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Man City player given early return from international duty
After Portugal beat Poland 5-1 in their latest Nations League match on Friday night, Fabrizio Romano shared this update on what will now happen with Bernardo Silva.
He said: “Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Bernardo Silva are set to return to their clubs after tonight’s game.
“Portugal qualified to Nations League quarter-finals and coach Roberto Martínez will call Fábio Silva and Geovany Quenda.”
Guardiola will be pleased to have Silva back early
With City having to deal with numerous injury issues over the past few weeks, Guardiola will be given a big boost in terms of getting Silva – who the club paid £43m to sign back in 2017 – back early.
Now that the 30-year-old won’t be playing in Monday’s Nations League match between Portugal and Croatia, this will take away the risk of him being injured in that game and allow him extra time to rest ahead of next weekend’s big Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
| Bernardo Silva 2024/25 | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Minutes Played |
| Premier League | 11 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 834 |
| Champions League | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 226 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Community Shield | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
After the Blues were beaten 4-1 by Sporting CP in the Champions League, Silva said City were in a “dark place” regarding their poor run of form, which extended to last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
That defeat to the Seagulls then saw Guardiola admit City needed the international break to arrive when it did so it gives his players the chance to reset and refresh.
Now that the City boss won’t need to worry about Silva’s fitness, this will give him some comfort in what has been a tough time for everyone at the club.
