“Let’s not deny it” – Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva issues honest assessment of international break | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva has highlighted the importance of the international break to the Premier League champions’ squad over the last fortnight.

Pep Guardiola and his players had come into the latest pause for national team duties off the back of four successive defeats across competitions, amid a challenging and growing injury picture within the squad.

With long-term problems handled by Rodri and Oscar Bobb, injuries to the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish caused significant selection headaches in key positions, whilst other stars lacked fitness to compete at the highest standard.

As such, a two-week pause from club action and many players withdrawing from their respective international call-ups has provided Manchester City with the ideal opportunity to recover some of their struggling figures.

Speaking during a recent interview during the ongoing international break, Bernardo Silva has admitted that the pause for national team duties has been ‘very beneficial’ for Manchester City during a ‘difficult time’ for the club.

“This break has been very beneficial for us. Let’s not deny it: it was a difficult time for our team,” the Portugal international recently told reporters, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness.

He continued, “It had never happened to me in my career. At City, I can’t even remember losing two games in a row.

“It’s [the break] done us good, because there are players who will be back from injury, and we have fresh heads to get back to our maximum level at this stage of the season.”

Manchester City’s pause for national team duties came to a conclusion on Tuesday night, with Ederson and Savinho in action for Brazil in a 1-1 draw against Uruguay as part of their FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

Training is likely to resume at the City Football Academy across Thursday with a view towards the weekend’s action against Tottenham as Ange Postecoglou’s side visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.