Manchester City have received a welcome injury boost as Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte returned to training on Thursday.
De Bruyne has missed the last two City fixtures - the wins over Arsenal and FC Porto - after picking up an injury on international duty. He was substituted in the second half of Belgium's Nations League defeat to England with a muscular injury, and his manager Roberto Martinez warned against overusing him and risking any aggravation.
Laporte also missed the Arsenal and Porto wins, with Nathan Ake and then Eric Garcia deputising in his absence.
Now, though, both players could be back in contention for the Premier League trip to West Ham after being pictured in training on Thursday.
De Bruyne's return is a timely one, with Fernandinho picking up an injury in the closing stages of the win against Porto, and Pep Guardiola later saying he could be out for up to six weeks.
Gabriel Jesus is also out, with City carefully monitoring a muscular injury, although the Brazilian did post to Instagram on Thursday suggesting he was stepping up his recovery by returning to the training pitch.
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan warned of players being overused after the Porto game, saying the City squad were 'struggling' and all at different levels of fitness.
For that reason, Guardiola may be reluctant to rush De Bruyne and Laporte back for the trip to West Ham, especially with a Champions League clash at Marseille following on Tuesday.
