Manchester City F.C.
·25 September 2024
Manchester City F.C.
·25 September 2024
Gareth Taylor revealed Leila Ouahabi’s fitness will be assessed later today ahead of our meeting with Paris FC in the second leg of Women’s Champions League Round Two qualifying.
Manchester City enter the deciding fixture on Thursday with a 5-0 advantage after our superb success in the French capital seven days ago.
Following the victory at Stade Charlety, the Spaniard was forced off in the first half of our Barclays Women’s Super League opener with Arsenal on Sunday due to injury.
And the Blues boss explained the left-back will be examined in Wednesday’s training session to determine her availability for the European fixture.
“Yeah everyone is pretty much available apart from the existing long termers we have in Sandy and Risa,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“Leila came off in the first half and we’re assessing her today, we haven’t trained yet so I will find out more once we come out of this.
“We have good options in the team and everyone is really champing at the bit ready to do their bit. When we lost Bunny in a late situation last week, we were able to bring Mary in who did a tremendous job for the team.
“She brought a lot to the team last week and that’s the type of situation you want, where players are contributing as much as they can.”
During his press conference, Taylor also provided a positive update on Jill Roord’s recovery from an ACL injury which has kept her out of action since January.
The boss revealed that she is likely to return to our matchday squad for the visit of Brighton in the WSL on Sunday at the Joie Stadium.
This is due to the immense progress she’s made ahead of schedule alongside the exceptional work of the Club’s medical staff.
He added: “[Jill is] closer. This weekend [against Brighton] is where you will see Jill back in the squad.
“That was our plan over the last few weeks. She is in full training and performing at a high level.
“The natural inclination is to get her involved sooner. We always push that and have good conversations with the medical team who have done an excellent job.
“And the way Jill has embraced her plan has been top. To get her back on Sunday for some period of the game is testament to her and the medical team here.”