Manchester City injury news gives Guardiola hope before Brentford

Manchester City go into the Brentford game with Pep Guardiola sounding unusually upbeat about three key defenders. Rodri may be ready to return after missing the last three matches with a groin injury, Joško Gvardiol is back in first-team training after the tibial fracture he suffered in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4, and Rúben Dias is nearing a comeback after missing the last seven games in all competitions with an ankle problem.

Rodri is the biggest question mark

Guardiola did not dress it up as a finished case. “We have survived without him for many, many months. He still doesn't feel completely comfortable. When he will be ready and fit to come back, we will see this afternoon. Hopefully for tomorrow - he will come back,” he told sportsmole.co.uk.

That is a better reading than a simple no, but it is not a guarantee either. Rodri was forced off after 20 minutes in the reverse Brentford fixture in West London, then played just three minutes over the next two months. City have still picked up 71 points from 34 matches and sit second in the Premier League, five points behind Arsenal on 76 from 35, so any return now lands in a title race that still has a margin for error.

Gvardiol and Dias add depth at the right time

The other encouraging part for City is that the defensive depth is starting to come back at once. Guardiola said Gvardiol is “training and feels good” and called him “an important player” who “can play different roles so fast and quick.” He added that it is “great to have him back like Ruben [Dias] as well.”

That matters because City are not just chasing one fit player, they are trying to restore the spine of the side. Gvardiol has missed time since that Chelsea match, while Dias has been out for seven games. Guardiola also said of Gvardiol, “I hope he can stay. It is hard to find a player like him.”

For Manchester City, the update does not solve everything, and it does not promise all three names will be involved against Brentford. It does give Guardiola a real chance of getting key bodies back for a match that sits right in the middle of the title chase, which is about as useful as an injury update gets in April.