Five absent as Manchester City have 24-man squad in training for Sporting CP clash

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City staff saw five of their first-team squad absent from training on Monday morning in the final session before a clash against Sporting.

The Premier League champions will want to return to winning ways this week after picking up back-to-back defeats across competitions, with a 2-1 away loss to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup followed up by the same manner of defeat at Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s squad has been hampered by an injury crisis in recent weeks, with fatigue, illness and fitness issues causing havoc among his selection options, although the trip to the Vitality Stadium brought surprise returns for a number of stars.

Manchester City captain Kyle Walker returned from a knee issue to complete 90 minutes, while Manuel Akanji overcame a muscular problem highlighted during the warm-ups of the Carabao Cup fourth round loss at Tottenham.

Elsewhere and Kevin De Bruyne returned to the matchday squad for the first time since September after he sustained a groin issue in the 0-0 draw against Inter, whilst wide pairing Jeremy Doku and Savinho also featured on the south coast.

As Manchester City now look towards their fourth UEFA Champions League contest of the season, here is how the squad looked in training on Monday morning before their flight to Lisbon later in the day to face Ruben Amorim’s Sporting.

24-man Manchester City training squad vs Sporting

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Scott Carson

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Sebastian Naylor, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Josh Wilson-Esbrand

Midfielders: Jacob Wright, Nico O’Reilly, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, James McAtee, Phil Foden

Forwards: Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Will Dickson, Erling Haaland

Among the notable names absent from training at the City Football Academy on Monday morning, both Ruben Dias and John Stones remained excluded from the session as they continue to recover from a muscular and foot issue respectively.

Pep Guardiola told reporters after the 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon that both men could miss the remaining two games prior to the international break against Sporting and Brighton away from home.

Jack Grealish also remains sidelined after sustaining a problem in Manchester City training the day after the club’s dramatic 1-2 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux last month.

As for both Rodri and Oscar Bobb, that particular duo remain sidelined and will play no part in Manchester City activities for much more extended period of time, with the latter expected to return at some stage in early 2025.