Manchester City’s updated injury list as Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Savinho return for Bournemouth clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s injury picture has altered significantly this weekend after a number of recently injured players returned to the Manchester City matchday squad.

The Premier League champions will be looking to return to winning ways immediately after their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Wednesday night which resulted in an exit from the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage.

The evening in North London was marred by injury chaos for Pep Guardiola and his players however, after Savinho, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol, with a hint towards Ruben Dias, appeared to indicate a growing problem within the City first-team squad.

However, upon arrival at the Vitality Stadium for their latest Premier League outing and confirmation of official team news, there have been significant changes to the picture for Guardiola and his heavily worked squad.

All returning to the matchday squad and contributions on the south coast are club captain Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji, both of whom start against Bournemouth. Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Savinho are all in the matchday roster too following their respective issues.

As such, that leaves Manchester City without six first-team players due to various levels of absence, with third-choice goalkeeper Scott Carson making way given the returns of fellow first-team stars.

Ruben Dias and John Stones are the most notable new absentees with Pep Guardiola revealing in the build-up to kick-off at the Vitality Stadium that both central defenders will be ruled out of action for “a little bit of a long time”.

Jack Grealish remains absent after he sustained an injury in the training session that followed Manchester City’s dramatic 1-2 away win over Wolves in the Premier League, while Oscar Bobb and Rodri remain sidelined for the longer-term.

Manchester City follow up their clash on the south coast against Bournemouth with UEFA Champions League duties on Tuesday night as they travel to face Sporting CP in the Portuguese capital.

They round off their latest block of fixtures with a meeting against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium a week today, before the final international break of the calendar year presents Guardiola and his struggling squad with some much-needed rest in parts.