Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi grateful for midweek break

Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi has admitted that he is happy to see a number of players return to the first-team squad after a spell out through injury.

Pep Guardiola has had to cope with several fitness issues in recent weeks, and Kevin De Bruyne revealed that some of the team were in need of a short break.

City got that last week ahead of the Premier League clash with Leicester City and with Fabian Delph, David Silva and Leroy Sane all having returned to training, Otamendi has suggested that the group are happy to see their teammates back in contention.

The 30-year-old is quoted by the club's official website as saying: "It's important to have the full squad ready for all the games to come. We play in three different competitions over the next fortnight and they are all important to us - we need to have right mindset for each of them.

"The rest we had prior to the Leicester game was helpful. When you don't play midweek, you have more time to recover physically and to prepare mentally for the next the games."

City are currently preparing to face Basel in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday night.