Manchester City braced for major fitness boost as defender closes in on return | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are closing in on a much-needed defensive return following a period out through injury and subsequent rehabilitation.

It has been a torrid season as a whole for the reigning Premier League champions both in terms of results and performances, but also injury and fitness problems hampering Guardiola’s selection options in his squad.

The two factors have largely worked hand-in-hand, with the Manchester City boss often having to field make-shift line-ups particularly in the defensive area of the pitch amid numerous injuries to his mainstay central defenders.

Such was the severity of Manchester City’s fitness problems that the club had to turn to the January transfer market to prevent a reoccurrence during the second-half of the season, with Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis joining the club.

With all of John Stones, Nathan Ake, and Manuel Akanji currently sidelined, extra responsibility is being placed on the aforementioned Uzbek defender in particular, while the latter is now on the verge of a return having undergone surgery earlier this year.

That is according to the information of reputable Manchester City inside source ‘FPLMaineRoad’ on X, who has revealed that Swiss international defender Akanji is now expected to return to action in the next two to three weeks.

Akanji sustained an abductor problem in the first-leg meeting with Real Madrid as the two clubs went head-to-head in a last-16 play-off tie earlier this year, requiring surgery that ruled him out for up to 10 weeks, according to Pep Guardiola at the time.

In a statement released on social media alongside a photo of himself in a hospital bed, Manuel Akanji told supporters in mid-February, “Surgery went well. The journey back to recovery has begun. Thanks for all your get-well messages!”

While the 29-year-old closes in on a long-awaited return to City action, it is highly likely that Pep Guardiola and his staff will hold no intention of rushing the defender back to action and will continue to utilise the likes of Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov in central defence.