Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol fitness updates from Pep Guardiola for Newcastle United and Real Madrid | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has issued fitness updates on Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol as his side embark upon the business end of the season.

The Blues saw their winning run across all competitions halt at six in midweek after goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson salvaged an invaluable 2-2 draw for relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.

City saw Nico O’Reilly miss the midweek draw due to an ankle injury the 20-year-old sustained in last week’s 1-0 win away at Leeds United but Guardiola has said that the Englishman is in contention for a return against Newcastle United in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday night.

Guardiola and co have lost further ground in the Premier League title race as Arsenal took full advantage of Manchester City’s recent slip-up and extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points courtesy of a 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion – albeit having played one more game than City.

Why has Rico Lewis not featured as much of late?

Rico Lewis has struggled for minutes since the start of the season, with Matheus Nunes enjoying his season at the Etihad Stadium since joining for £53 million from Wolves in 2023.

Nunes’ heroics at right-back, despite being a natural midfielder, have seen Guardiola favour the Portugal international in the position and despite fending off interest in Lewis from Nottingham Forest last summer, City haven’t offered their academy graduate a consistent platform this term.

However, ahead of Saturday night’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park, Guardiola has revealed that Lewis has struggled with an injury recently.

“Rico (Lewis) has a problem, a twist in the ankle and it’s a little bit swollen. But he’s on the edge to come back,” Guardiola revealed in a press conference on Friday afternoon.

Asked whether the 21-year-old is nearing a return to action, Guardiola added: “Yeah, nearly back,” which means this weekend’s cup commitments in Tyneside will probably come too soon for the Manchester City academy graduate.

On Lewis’ season so far, Guardiola said: “It’s a good question. Always I rely a lot on Rico, he has something special. The first or second game in the Champions League playing Villarreal – it’s now third or fourth in La Liga, a top team, even in the Champions League making a good season.

“I think Villarreal have a high consideration from me. I trust him a lot, it’s just maybe for man-markings, less pockets, less positions there. And sometimes, maybe that is the reason. But I trust him a lot. I like Rico, a lot, a lot, a lot!”

Could Mateo Kovacic be back on the pitch soon?

Mateo Kovacic has returned to full first-team training in the last few weeks after recovering from an Achilles surgery he underwent in November 2025.

The 31-year-old faces an uncertain future at the Etihad Stadium, having entered the final 18 months of his contract with no indication as yet of renewal talks amid a growing belief that Manchester City will push to sign Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson this summer.

“It’s great news! Finally he’s back, training in the last three or four training sessions,” Guardiola said on Kovacic ahead of Saturday’s trip to the north-east.

“Still for his physical condition needs time, but the most important after a second surgery in his ankle, it’s much, much better than the first. And maybe he can give us good quality until the end of the season.”

Asked whether City will see Kovacic back on the pitch after the upcoming international break, Guardiola added: “We’ll see. He needs a little bit more training sessions. It’s been almost Fulham (last season), made a surgery, came back a little bit, but he was not fully, fully fit. And now after many, many months – he’s back.”

How far away is Josko Gvardiol from a return?

Josko Gvardiol suffered a tibial fracture on his right leg in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in early January and is expected to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

The 23-year-old Croatian faces a race against time to prove his fitness for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico – and Guardiola is not getting ahead of himself by getting his hopes up over a return to action soon for Gvardiol either.

“It’s a little bit longer. I hope so! But I don’t know when (he will return), I didn’t speak with the doctors,” Guardiola said on Gvardiol.

Manchester City signed Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace for £20 million in January in the wake of injuries to Gvardiol and Ruben Dias on January 4 – and with Max Alleyne also recalled midway through a season-long loan at Watford, the Blues have plenty of depth in central defence to cope with Gvardiol’s absence.