Manchester City duo absent from first-team training ahead of Copenhagen clash

Pep Guardiola was without two of his first-team stars in open training on Monday morning as Manchester City gear up for their return to Champions League action.

The reigning Champions of Europe embark on a trip to the Danish capital of Copenhagen as they take on a side that progressed from a group stage campaign featuring Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Galatasaray.

Manchester City find themselves in a rich vein of form with 10 successive wins across all competitions, including successes in the FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, and their ongoing pursuit of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League crown.

The return of major first-team names have boosted Pep Guardiola’s options in recent weeks, specifically Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland – both of whom have contributed greatly to Manchester City’s goalscoring outputs.

However, while Manchester City appeared to have reached the tail-end of their injury and fitness concerns, this week has brought about two fresh worries in defence and into midfield, as reported on Monday.

According to Tyrone Marshall of the Manchester Evening News, the Croatian international duo of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic were both absent from the open section of Manchester City’s Champions League training session at the City Football Academy.

The absence of Kovacic follows on from his omission from the matchday squad that defeated Everton via a 2-0 scoreline at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while there is little information surrounding either of their absences.

Pep Guardiola is due to the face the media ahead of Manchester City’s meeting with FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night from Parken later on Monday evening, with the squad making the trip to northern Europe later today.

As per standard Champions League procedure, Pep Guardiola will be joined by a member of his first-team squad for the club’s media duties.