Manchester City could be boosted by the returns of both Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero ahead of Saturday's clash with Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Sterling pulled out of the England squad ahead of the Three Lions' clash with Iceland at Wembley on Wednesday evening with a calf problem, after playing no part in the earlier meetings with the Republic of Ireland and Belgium.
Aguero, on the other hand, has not played since sustaining a hamstring injury during City's 1-1 draw with West Ham United at the London Stadium on October 24.
However, speaking ahead of Saturday teatime's tussle in north London, City chief Pep Guardiola, who signed a new contract to extend his stay at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday, has confirmed that both players could return against Spurs, but would not be drawn on whether they would definitely be involved.
He told City's club website: “Sergio trained this week. Raheem trained for the first time today with the team.”
While Aguero and Sterling could return for City, who suffered a 2-0 defeat on their last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they will definitely be without summer signing Nathan Ake and Brazilian midfield enforcer Fernandinho.
Ake, signed during the summer from AFC Bournemouth, suffered a hamstring problem during the Netherlands' 1-1 draw with Spain last week while Fernandinho has not played since mid-October. However, the 35-year-old could have made a return against Spurs until being struck down with a stomach problem.
On the duo, Guardiola added: “Except for Nathan and Fernandinho, the rest have started to come back. Fernandinho is not fit. He has a bit of gastroenteritis, something in his stomach."
City are also set to be without left-back duo Benjamin Mendy (injured) and Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko, with the latter currently self-isolating after members of the Ukrainian national team tested positive for coronavirus during the international break.
As well as issuing an update on the latest injury news ahead of the clash with Jose Mourinho's side, Guardiola also heaped praise on Spurs' start to the season and recognised that the five-point gap between the two clubs could have been even greater if Spurs had not blown late leads against Newcastle United and West Ham, respectively.
The Spaniard said: “The numbers speak for themselves. They dropped points against West Ham and Newcastle in the last minute. Imagine the points if they hadn't.
“The quality was always there. They qualified for the Champions League for four or five years and reached the final.
“They have been a good team since [Mauricio] Pochettino took over. It is a fantastic squad.”
