PREMIER LEAGUE
Pep Guardiola reveals his thoughts on his Manchester City future
The Manchester City head coach spoke about the fitness of his star player, Kevin De Bruyne, as well as his future at the club.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke to the press ahead of his side’s Premier League game against Wolves on Sunday 21 October.
During the press conference, the 53-year-old was asked about the fitness of his star creative midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian playmaker has been sidelined with a groin injury since mid-September, and he has missed the last 5 games for his side.
The physical issue arose during City’s Champions League draw against Inter Milan, which saw the English side stifled by solid defending from their opponents across the 90 minutes.
Manchester City latest injury news
When asked about a possible return this weekend for De Bruyne, Guardiola did not give the most positive response: “I don’t think so. No (setbacks), but not ready,” he simply replied.
The manager admitted that both De Bruyne and Aké, another injured player, “are training” and the defender even “did his first training with the team. Maybe he can travel but to start he is not ready.”
More City players are currently spending their time in the recovery room at the training ground: “Some of the Brazilians [also have problems], Manu (Akanji) [had an issue after the international break]”, he admitted. Ederson and Savinho are the two Brazilians in question, who returned to England’s north-west with minor issues and did not train.
“Tomorrow we will see how they feel. Tomorrow we will know exactly”, he concluded.
City are currently second in the league with 17 points after 7 games, just one behind leaders Liverpool, while Wolves are rock-bottom with just a single point from the same amount of games played.
However, despite the chasm in performances and positions in the table, Guardiola was keen to point out that there are no easy games at this level. “They got less points than they deserve, it’s what I can see,” he said. “[Games] always have been tough with Wolves, since Nuno Espirito Santo was the manager. All the time they have been exceptional.”
Pep Guardiola also spoke about his future at the club, with the role of England manager cropping up as a possibility before Thomas Tuchel was announced earlier in the week: “I have made no decision yet at this stage. When I decide, I will inform the club and then the press... that’s why there is no news, and that’s why I don’t have to add absolutely anything else. The next game is my only focus. The factor to decide my future at Man City? The weather! I’m waiting for it to change, and after I will take a decision. To be honest, the club never put me any pressure to decide. Never ever. I’m sure they have options in case I leave, one day”.