Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has provided a fresh update on the fitness of his squad ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola, who has signed a two-year contract extension at the club, has been working with a depleted squad for the last few months due to the club's injury crisis, and Citizens supporters had hoped that November's international break would provide some of those players with an opportunity to step up their recovery.
Others remain out long term including star midfielder Rodri, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining an ACL injury in September, although Guardiola has offered an update on the Spaniard's recovery.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Guardiola said: "I think in January he will come back to Man City to make a recovery, but I think, from what I hear from the doctors, it's going really, really well, and his mood is good and it's nice to see him."
"He's unique in our club, one player who has played here has got this amazing, amazing Ballon d'Or award and shares it with our people (at the Etihad on Saturday).
Oscar Bobb (leg fracture) also remains a long-term absentee and is targeting a return between January and February, while Guardiola has confirmed that three more players will not be involved against Tottenham.
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Kovacic, Dias ruled out of Spurs clash
Guardiola has revealed the extend of Mateo Kovacic's injury, while Ruben Dias - who has missed Man City's last three games with an apparent calf problem - remains sidelined.
"Ruben [Dias] is out but hopefully back soon," said Guardiola, who has also revealed that academy starlet Max Alleyne has returned from international duty with England Under-20s with an injury.
"Max Alleyne is not fit as well was injured from national team because they push our limits and come back injured," the Catalan added.
"Players go to the national team and train - Under-21 in the morning - afternoon with Under-20 after training two games. He is not fit, we will lose him. It is what it is."
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Guardiola confirms triple boost as five others also train
On a positive note, Guardiola has revealed that defensive trio John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake - who all missed Man City's 2-1 loss at Brighton prior to the international break - have all returned to training and could be in contention to face Spurs this weekend.
"Some of them [could be available], yes," said Guardiola. "John [Stones] trained good, Manu [Akanji] trained good. Nathan [Ake] is coming back to training, so we didn't have any centre-backs and now we have three.
"Some players recover better. These 10 days some players recovered a little. I don't know if they are ready to play 90 minutes or play from the beginning but to see the training session and see their faces was a really good boost for all of us."
Meanwhile, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes and Kevin De Bruyne have all trained this week - some of whom withdrew from their national team squads - and they could be available for selection, although Guardiola did not specifically mention the quintet at Friday's press conference.
Man City enter Saturday's game with Spurs on the back of losing four games in a row across all competitions for the first time under Guardiola and currently sit five points behind Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Oliver Thomas
