Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias has been spotted training again after spending time on the sidelines injurywith his potential return ahead of a crucial series of games.
Dias has been suffering from a muscle problem for the last month, and he last appeared at the club late defeat to city rivals Manchester United in mid-December. City enjoyed a bit of a resurgence after Christmas, stringing together three consecutive victories with performances that were not all entirely convincing, before descending into disaster 2-2 draw with Brentford on Tuesday night.
City led 2-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium with less than ten minutes remaining but still managed to come away with all three points. The defending champions have already shipped 29 league goals – as many as Arsenal conceded all of last season.
During Dias’s absence, Pep Guardiola predicted that he would be without his central defender for “three or four weeks”. That difficult period of recovery has passed and the imposing defender took part in the first team training on Wednesday with the players who did not start in the draw with Brentford.
Dias’ arrival can’t come soon enough for City. The Sky Blues travel to newly promoted Ipswich Town on Sunday before venturing to the French capital for a crucial one Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain. Both of Europe’s modern giants are flirting with the distinct possibility of not qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.
After that continental clash, City returns to domestic duties with a visit from a top-ranked team Chelsea on Saturday, January 25.
Guardiola always claimed that simple solution to City’s fragility was always going to be a return to form for its fleet of injured players. Dias shared the treatment room with fellow first-rounder John Stones and reigning Ballon d’Or holder Rodri.
As well as relying solely on the club’s medical department, City have turned to the transfer market in an attempt to strengthen their back line.
It is Abdukodir Husanov ready to arrive from Lens, and also has an agreement agreed for Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis. The young centre-backs are a combined 39 years of age and are likely to command around £70m between them.
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