Manchester City have received an injury boost ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Leicester City, with Raheem Sterling returning to training. It’s second versus third in the Premier League – Man City could go seven points clear in the runners-up spot or see their lead narrowed to just a single point.
It’s unlikely the 25-year-old will make the matchday squad, however, as Pep Guardiola said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference that he’s “in the latter stages of his recovery” rather than being 100%.
Sterling has made 35 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring and creating 26 goals. His last outing came in City’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur (February 2).
The England international missed their 2-0 win over West Ham United (February 19) and will be absent against Leicester (February 22), but it remains to be seen if he’ll return to face Real Madrid (February 26) and Aston Villa (March 1) in the Champions League last-16 and EFL Cup final combined.
Guardiola isn’t short on options, with Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez to call upon, but the Citizens may miss Sterling’s goals. Only Sergio Aguero has scored more league goals (16) than the 25-year-old (11). Silva (5), Jesus (9) and Mahrez (7) are lagging behind.