Manchester City have been boosted by the return of Gabriel Jesus ahead of their Premier League opener vs Tottenham Hotspur.
City have endured a disruptive pre-season with a Covid-19 breakout, a cancelled friendly and multiple player absentees throwing Pep Guardiola's preparations into disarray.
Several of his key stars have been unavailable as they were given time to rest and recuperate following participation in this summer's international tournaments, with Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Larpote and Ederson not taking part in any of the friendlies.
Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden haven't either as they are both nursing injuries and will miss the start of the campaign.
Thankfully, the rest of City's players are due to return to training this week, if they haven't already, and Jesus has revealed he is back at the CFA after posting on his Instagram story.
The forward uploaded a video of him embracing Bernardo Silva and wishing his teammate a happy birthday while in the dressing room at the training ground.
It's not yet clear if Jesus, or any of the other returning players, will be involved as the Blues get their title defence under way at Spurs on Sunday, as Guardiola admitted every player will have to be assessed to see if they're ready to play.
"A few players get their condition so quick. Others need a little bit more time,” said the City boss after the Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.
“We will see the weight and body fat, how they arrive and especially their heads.
“There are players that play after just three, four or five days and the mentality is positive and ready to fight and suffer in the bad conditions.
“But some of them need more time, we will try to discover which are ready immediately, it’s simple.”
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