Ruben Dias in line to make Manchester City return against Tottenham

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias could make his return from injury in the high-profile Premier League clash against Tottenham next week.

The Portugal international centre-back has been ruled out of action for Manchester City ever since the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and his teammates’ return to the Etihad Stadium for club action.

Upon City returning to duty, it was revealed that Dias had sustained a muscular injury during Portugal’s penultimate game of the tournament – a problem that was aggravated in the quarter-final defeat to Morocco.

However, as City look to continue their hunt of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, manager, players, and supporters alike may be greeted by the return of the former Benfica defender sooner than expected.

Speaking during a press conference this week, City boss Pep Guardiola provided a significant update on the recovery of Ruben Dias, as the Premier League champions’ fixture list approaches it’s most intense point in the season.

“He (Ruben Dias) is coming back (to training) maybe today (Friday), but soon,” Guardiola revealed to the media. “He’s been a long time injured.

“The first step is to come back and start to train, but him being back is good news for us. He’s an important figure in the locker room, for his mates when he’s playing.”

Ruben Dias’ return to training is likely to put him in contention to play a role in Manchester City’s Premier League clash against Tottenham next week, with the Manchester derby at Old Trafford this weekend coming too soon.

Despite Dias’ return being a welcome boost to the squad, his appearance has arguably been cancelled out by the problem sustained by John Stones – who missed the midweek Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Southampton, and will miss the weekend’s trip to Manchester United.

While Stones’ injury is not understood to be serious, and a swift return to action is expected for the England international, his absence will certainly be felt with the centre-back in a rich vein of form that contributed to City’s solidity at the back prior to the defeat on the south coast on Wednesday night.