Manchester City is boosted by the return of John Stones to training after an ankle injury.
John Stones has returned to Manchester City training after suffering an injury in late December.
Stones had to be sent off during the 3-1 win over his former club Everton after he made an awkward tackle which was belatedly ruled offside. If the team was disappointed by the decision, it was also difficult to lose Stones again because the England international has only played a full league game twice this season.
City have come from behind to beat Everton and won six in a row in all competitions, but Pep Guardiola will be delighted that Stones was able to join his teammates for part of a full training session for the first time since his latest injury at the weekend.
The team are in Abu Dhabi for a week during the Premier League winter break before returning to the FA Cup next Friday to take on Tottenham, so he has allowed local fans to watch training.
Stones suffered the problem during the win at Everton on 27 December in a clash with Beto after the linesman left the flag down even though the striker was standing offside.
The England international has taken the first steps on the road to a comeback, joining his City team-mates for some of their training during a warm-weather break in Abu Dhabi.
The Triple Crown winners will return to action on Friday when they host Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fourth round.
But they probably won’t be able to count on striker Erling Haaland, who admitted that he is “bored” by his long absence.
Haaland has not featured for six weeks after injuring his foot in the defeat to Aston Villa, and Pep Guardiola revealed that the striker had suffered an injury earlier this month.
However, the return of Stones is a welcome one for Guardiola due to the absence of teammate Manuel Akani.
Stones, who was instrumental in last season’s success, was recently included in the FIFPRO World XI, but has only featured in eight Premier League games this term due to various fitness issues.