Guardiola reveals Man City double injury worry but welcomes another player back

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed fresh injury concerns for Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rico Lewis , but also welcomed the return of Mateo Kovacic.

“Unfortunately, in the last game, he had some niggles in the legs,” Guardiola admitted about Ait-Nouri. “He didn’t feel comfortable at all, so that’s why we didn’t want to take risks.”

After making his summer switch to the Etihad, the Algerian international had a slow start to life in Manchester. However, since his return from Afcon, the 24-year-old has established himself in the team.

Ait-Nouri has started every one of City’s last nine games in all competitions. His manager said: “He’s made a step forward a lot in the last games. He understands what we want and what we need.

“His quality with the ball is fantastic. He gives us extra passes and defensively he’s more aggressive and more fast than people could think.

“That’s why we bought him from Wolves and he’s playing really, really good.”

One City player who has continued to struggle for minutes this season is Rico Lewis . The 21-year-old has started just three league games this campaign.

“Rico has a problem with his ankles,” Guardiola revealed. “He’s a little bit swollen, but he’s on the edge to come back. Nearly back.”

“I always rely a lot on Rico, he has something special.

“I trust him a lot. I like him, Rico, a lot, a lot, a lot.”

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City’s boss did have a positive update to issue on the fitness of Mateo Kovacic.

“It’s great news. Yeah, finally he’s back, training the last three or four training sessions.

“Still not fully conditioned, he needs time. But most important is after the second surgery, his ankle is much, much better than the first one.

“Maybe he can give us a good quality time until the end of the season.

“He needs a little bit more training sessions, has been almost one year out. Now, after many months, he’s back.”

Asked if Kovacic’s fellow Croatian Josko Gvardiol could also make a return this season, Guardiola answered: “It’s a bit longer still. Yeah, I hope so. I hope so, but I don’t know when. I didn’t speak with the doctors.”

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