The news from the national team camps has been mixed as
Pep Guardiola readies himself for the home straight of the season. Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva were given a match off while Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish have both trained at the City
Football Academy, although Kyle Walker limped out of England's game with
Brazil, Manu Akanji picked up a knock that forced him out of a Switzerland match and then John Stones had to go off against
Belgium. City's squad is blessed with talent but - contrary to popular belief - is not rich in reserves as Guardiola prefers a small group to avoid the disputes that can come from players being left out of matches. As boring as it may be to admit, injuries can make or break the run-in when trophies are decided. ALSO READ: How behind closed doors game shaped City transfer plans READ MORE: City get Kevin De Bruyne injury boost ahead of
Arsenal fixture City headed to Bayern Munich last year for the second leg of their
Champions League quarter-final with a clean bill of health, only for the hamstring injury Nathan Ake suffered at the Allianz Arena to threaten to disrupt them. The biggest reason that it didn't was the fact that Manu Akanji was able to step in and perform exceptionally at left-back against first Arsenal and then Real Madrid. An easier FA Cup semi-final draw than previous years also allowed players to rest, and while De Bruyne needed to skip every other game to manage his hamstring injury Ilkay Gundogan and others were in such good form that his absence wasn't costly. By the time the Champions League final rocked around, there was a fully fit squad. The year before, things worked out very differently. Dias missed the Champions League quarter-final with Atletico and Kyle Walker got injured in the second leg to mean he missed the FA Cup semi-final with
Liverpool . European competition had taken so much out of City that Guardiola rested Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez at Wembley in what resulted in a disappointing defeat. John Stones returned from injury to play
Real Madrid in the semi-final but was forced back off with injury, with Fernandinho replacing him and getting skinned by Vinicius for a goal. Guardiola took the call to rush Walker back for the second leg - "There are moments of the season you have to risk, this is one of them," he said - only for the right-back to pull up again 20 minutes before City imploded. There was some bad luck involved in the 2021/22 campaign just as there was good luck the following year, and luck is an essential ingredient at this stage in the season. City are approaching the point where a few risks may be needed with players, but there is as much chance of them backfiring as working out. As the hard work goes into trying to get every player ready for Arsenal and then Real Madrid, City will have to hope they can overcome the fitness and injury issues that inevitably lie in their way. For the latest
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