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Two Manchester City players returned to training on Tuesday to hand Pep Guardiola a boost ahead of the Champions League trip to Monaco.
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Manchester City have been handed a major fitness boost after Rodri and Rayan Cherki returned to training ahead of the Champions League trip to Monaco on Wednesday.
Rodri missed the weekend win against Burnley after complaining of pain in his knee in Friday’s training session. The 29-year-old was feeling the problem in the same knee that he injured last September as he continues to work his way back to full fitness.
But he was the first player to be out on the grass at the City Football Academy on Tuesday morning, kicking a ball around and chatting with fitness coach Lorenzo Bonaventura. Rodri then took part in the session with the rest of the squad.
He was joined by Cherki, who is closing in on a return to action having been out with a thigh injury since the final week of August.
The £34million midfielder started against Tottenham but was then ruled out of the trip to Brighton at the end of August and was expected to be absent for two months.
But his recovery has gone better than expected and Tuesday was his first day back in full training, with the potential for a return to action either against Monaco on Wednesday night or at Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday.
Mateo Kovacic continued his recovery as he seeks a first appearance since May, having undergone Achilles surgery this summer.
Kalvin Phillips was also part of the session. The midfielder isn't in the club's Champions League squad but continues to train and is available for Premier League fixtures.
City remain without a trio of first-team players, with Abdukodir Khusanov, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush missing. All three could be available again after the international break.
Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford both trained on Tuesday, but there was no sign of Stefan Ortega or Marcus Bettinelli. All four goalkeepers had trained with the squad prior to the win against Napoli.
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