Man City injury news: Pep Guardiola handed major boost as two players return to training before Monaco trip

Manchester City supporters have received a positive update on the fitness of Rodri and Rayan Cherki ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Monaco.

The Citizens extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches last weekend when they secured a 5-1 home victory over Burnley in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola had to cope without star lynchpin Rodri, who told the Catalan coach that he could not play against the Clarets because he was feeling pain in the same knee affected by a torn ACL this time last year.

"Rodri was training and said, 'I'm not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee. I cannot play, I cannot play,” Guardiola told reporters after the win over Burnley. "I said, 'if you cannot play, you cannot play'."

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Despite that, Man City have been boosted by the news that Rodri took part in a first-team training session on Tuesday morning ahead of the squad’s flight to Monaco in the evening.

Rodri is therefore in contention to be selected in Guardiola’s travelling squad, but it remains to be seen if he will be fit to feature in some capacity.

Should Rodri miss out against Monaco, “clearly improving” midfielder Nico Gonzalez has been tipped to continue in a deep-lying role after impressing against Burnley.

Meanwhile, summer signing Cherki has made a welcome return to first-team training after recovering from a thigh injury sustained at the end of August.

Cherki also back in training, but three Man City players remain out injured

The 22-year-old has missed Man City’s last six games in all competitions since Guardiola stated that the playmaker could remain in the treatment room for “two months, seven or eight weeks”.

However, recent reports from France claimed that Cherki underwent an MRI earlier this month and his thigh injury has now “healed”, with the former Lyon star having now “resumed reconditioning work.”

It has been suggested that Cherki may be ready to return to Guardiola’s matchday squad on Wednesday, but whether he is fit enough to gain substantial minutes, either from the start or as a substitute, remains to be seen.

Mateo Kovacic, who is yet to play for Man City this season, is another pushing to return after recovering from Achilles surgery that took place in the summer, but Abdukodir Khusanov (foot), Rayan Ait-Nouri (ankle) and Omar Marmoush (knee) all remain sidelined.

Guardiola will provide the latest update on the fitness of his Man City squad at a pre-match press conference in Monaco on Tuesday evening.