Manchester City star ‘set to start’ against Arsenal despite recent injury concerns

Pep Guardiola is expected to be handed a much-needed boost for the visit of Arsenal this weekend, with a new report offering an update on the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgium international was left out of his nation’s recent international friendly contests after picking up a minor knock during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Anfield, and leaving him out of action for the meeting with Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

De Bruyne has spent the last fortnight at the City Football Academy training base, building his fitness alongside recovering from a problem that his teammates and coaching staff will be hoping does not become a problem during the business end of the campaign.

With the large majority of Pep Guardiola’s side away on international duty, De Bruyne has largely only been joined by Jack Grealish in training alongside a number of the club’s reserves squad in order to maintain sharpness.

However, work away from the first-team group has seemingly enabled De Bruyne to put himself into a strong position ahead of the visit of Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, as Manchester City chase a fourth successive Premier League crown.

That is according to the information of the Daily Star’s Jeremy Cross, who reports that Kevin De Bruyne took part in a full training session with Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad on Tuesday afternoon.

As such, it is further revealed that the legendary Belgian playmaker is ‘set to start’ for the Premier League champions against Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta’s title challengers visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola is scheduled to address the media on Friday afternoon as he looks ahead to the return of domestic football this weekend, and the Catalan coach is likely to have a better understanding of his squad’s fitness.

Manchester City are due to return to the City Football Academy on Thursday as they begin preparations for the weekend’s fixture, while April also represents a crucial period for the fate of the club this season.

Contests in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League are accompanied by a number of crucial Premier League meetings, while Manchester City will be requiring the full depth of their squad should they wish to mount a serious claim for the retaining of last season’s Treble triumph.