Manchester City injury crisis ends as four players return to training on Thursday ahead of Real Madrid showdown | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola received a significant boost to his first-team options this week with the return of four names to training ground action on Thursday.

Manchester City are currently in the process of putting together their plans for a return to action on Saturday lunchtime, as the FA Cup fourth round arrives off the back of a hugely disappointing recent result for the club.

Pep Guardiola’s side crumbled to a staggering 5-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, further emphasising that despite more positive outcomes in matches since the turn of the year there are a whole world of problems that remain in place.

Injury problems and a lack of individual form for certain players have meant that Manchester City struggled to perform against title-chasing Arsenal, and while Erling Haaland scored an equaliser, defensive frailties are rife in the team.

But with a UEFA Champions League double-header on the horizon against Real Madrid in the last-16 play-off round, Guardiola and his players will be buoyed by the return of four faces that have been absent from the most-part of their recent matches.

As per images shared by City Football Group partner side Bolivar, who have been present in east Manchester as part of a training camp at the City Football Academy training base, Manchester City posed for photos with their CFG colleagues.

Among those spotted in the group photo were all of Ederson, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, and Jeremy Doku, in a huge boost to Pep Guardiola’s options that now leaves him with just one name sidelined through recovery from injury.

Ederson was absent from the weekend’s defeat to Arsenal having withdrawn from the travelling matchday squad with discomfort in his thigh, as exclusively revealed by City Xtra Portugues.

As for Nathan Ake, the Dutchman appeared to have sustained a problem during the 2-2 draw with Brentford in Premier League action in mid-January and has not been present in any of the club’s matchday duties since.

Ruben Dias suffered a similar fate just days later as Pep Guardiola revealed the Portuguese international had picked up an abductor injury as he admitted, “He was stable, always was able to play a lot of games, but this season started to, yeah… It is what it is.”

And in the case of Jeremy Doku, the Belgian picked up an issue in the rout over Ipswich Town at Portman Road at a moment in his Manchester City season when the winger was producing strong performances and goal contributions across competitions.

Following the return of the aforementioned players, Rodri remains the only name sidelined through injury and rehabilitation as the Spaniard continues to aim for a return to training and match action towards the very end of the season heading towards the Club World Cup.