Pep Guardiola insists Aymeric Laporte will be ready to play 90 minutes against Real Madrid on Wednesday night despite asking to come off early in the victory over Leicester City in the Premier League.
And City could also welcome Raheem Sterling back for the trip to the Bernabeu, with Guardiola confident he will be in the squad that travels to Spain, despite not making the journey to the King Power Stadium.
This was only Laporte's third start since returning from a serious knee injury and he asked the bench to come off just before the hour mark of the Blues' 1-0 victory.
But Guardiola said that was due to the demands of defending against an intense side such as the Foxes and confirmed he will be fine for the Champions League last-16 first leg.
"He asked me to be substituted, but he's not injured. He's been four months, five months injured, we can't forget that. He had to run a lot. It was different against West Ham, we could control it easier. He's ok," Guardiola said of Laporte, before confirming he would be fit enough to play the full game in Madrid.
There could also be a welcome return for Sterling from the hamstring injury he suffered at Tottenham before the winter break.
The England international wasn't in the squad for the trip to Leicester City, but after the game Guardiola confirmed he had made significant progress in his return from injury.
"He's much, much, much better, I think he'll be ready," the City boss said.
