Manchester City defender returns to training after recovering from international break injury
Manchester City defender returns to training after recovering from international break injury John Stones has returned to Manchester City training ahead of Sunday’s Premier League battle with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. The 31-year-old suffered a calf injury on England duty in the recent international break, ruling him out of City’s recent FA Cup and league wins over Liverpool and Chelsea . Stones is expected to leave Manchester City at the end of the season as his current contract expires in June, with Everton interested to bring the six-time Premier League winner back to Merseyside a decade after he joined forces with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City make decision on John Stones future ahead of June contract expiry Stones returns to Man City training ahead of Arsenal City are expected to name a centre-half partnership of Marc Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with Josko Gvardiol still recovering after undergoing surgery on a tibial fracture and Ruben Dias also sidelined with a hamstring injury. Manchester City recalled Stones midway through the recent international break to conduct further tests and assess the extent of his calf issue – with him not being involved in recent wins over Liverpool and Chelsea. After Guardiola issued a fitness update on Nico O’Reilly and Dias in a press conference on Friday, Stones was spotted in Manchester City training ahead of Sunday’s must-win clash with Arsenal.
Will Stones be involved against Arsenal? Stones has next to no chance to start on Sunday as the stakes are as high as they’ve ever been for Manchester City in the Premier League title race, especially with the Blues closing the gap to Arsenal to six points after the Gunners slipped up against Bournemouth last week. City can send a crushing blow to Mikel Artet a’s camp with three points at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as they search for a fourth successive win and a second triumph over Arsenal in the space of a month, having downed the Gunners in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley in March.
Bernardo Silva confirmed in a statement this week he will be leaving Manchester City when his contract expires in June and Stones is also expected to make a similar announcement on his own future in the near future, with a renewal at the Etihad Stadium not in the offing.