This weekend, Manchester City will play Luton Town in the Premier League. On Tuesday, the team played to a thrilling draw at Real Madrid, with Phil Foden limping off due to an injury and Kevin De Bruyne missing the match due to illness.
Phil Foden and Pep Guardiola exchange views against Real Madrid
Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne participated in training on Wednesday, which appears to have given Manchester City’s options for the Premier League match against Luton and the Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Real Madrid a boost. De Bruyne was supposed to start for City when they arrived at Real Madrid, but a sudden illness forced him to the bench, and he never looked ready to play. Instead, Mateo Kovacic was brought on, moving Bernardo Silva out wide and Phil Foden into the middle, with both players scoring in the 3-3 draw. However, Foden’s night ended in a negative way, as he was substituted in the final moments following a heavy challenge, limping off to be replaced by Julian Alvarez.
To allay fears, Guardiola referred to Foden’s problem as a “knock” and stated that the 23-year-old had desired to remain on the field. Now, City has released pictures of their Wednesday recovery session in Madrid, featuring both players in the group.
The picture of De Bruyne does not reveal the type of workout he was doing, but the fact that he is grinning and sporting the same City training gear as his teammates suggests he participated in the session just like everyone else following his illness the previous evening.
And Foden is seen full of smiles as he stretched with fellow starters including Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega. That would also suggest that there isn’t a serious problem with his dead leg that would force him to stay with the medical team rather than participate in the rehabilitation exercise. “Feelin’ good!” was the caption on an Instagram photo that featured Foden during the session with a big smile.
Guardiola will be questioned about the two players’ health on Friday when he gives a preview of Luton’s visit; Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake are still sidelined due to injuries. When Rodri told reporters following the Bernabeu match that he needed a break in the upcoming weeks and that John Stones has been playing with an injury concern for the past two games, it raised alarms.
