Manchester City, Netherlands receive Nathan Ake injury boost

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has eased fears of sustaining a serious injury on international duty as he has returned to training with the Netherlands.

The 28-year-old was handed his 38th cap for the Oranje in last Thursday's 3-0 home victory over Greece in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

However, Ake was forced off at half time with a slight hamstring issue, with head coach Ronald Koeman revealing after the match that he "didn't want to take any risks with him".

Ake has had his fair share of niggling injuries during his time at the Etihad Stadium and he sustained a number of muscle-related problems during the second half of last season.

The defender also picked up a hamstring injury during Man City's pre-season tour of Asia earlier this summer and subsequently missed the Community Shield loss on penalties to Arsenal.

Hersteltraining voor basiself Oranje. De reserves en tribuneklanten van gisteren worden wat harder aan het werk gezet ondanks de hitte. Aké die tegen Griekenland in de rust gewisseld werd met ogenschijnlijke hamstringklachten neemt deel aan de hersteltraining. pic.twitter.com/3qhSjrUasu

— Jeroen Kapteijns (@JeroenKapteijns) September 8, 2023

Ake has since started in four of Man City's opening five fixtures across all competitions, and scored his first goal of the season, albeit in controversial circumstances, in last weekend's 5-1 Premier League win over Fulham.

After being withdrawn at half time in the Netherlands' win over Greece, a report from Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf suggested that Ake appeared to be in discomfort during a recovery training session on Friday.

However, Ake's immediate return to training has provided both the Netherlands and Man City with a boost as the defender has seemingly not sustained a serious injury.

Ake could therefore be in contention to represent the Oranje in Sunday's Euro 2024 qualifier away against Republic of Ireland.

Pep Guardiola would presumably prefer Ake's minutes to be managed on Sunday, though, as the Citizens boss will want as many of his players to return from international duty fully fit ahead of a busy fixture schedule.

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Man City have a total of 15 senior players representing their respective countries this month, and their first game after the international break in a Premier League trip to West Ham United next weekend – the first of five fixtures in the month of September.

The treble winners are soon gearing up for the return of Champions League group-stage football, with the reigning champions playing host to Red Star Belgrade on September 19.

A challenging away trip to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup third round is then sandwiched between Premier League clashes with Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

City then begin October with two away games in the space of four days against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and Arsenal in the Premier League before another international break begins the week commencing October 9.