Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says defender Nathan Ake is facing a race against time to be fit for the game against Tottenham.
The Netherlands international was substituted after just 20 minutes in the 4-0 win over Fulham at the weekend and, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Monday, Guardiola said that the centre-back is touch and go for the trip down to London.
“Nathan wasn’t much better yesterday [Sunday]. Now he will train and we will see if he can train. It is not serious, but we had just two days from the last game.”
From the sound of things, Ake will face a late fitness test but, even if he is available, he may not be risked from the start.
Who could replace Ake in the starting lineup against Spurs?
Kyle Walker came on in the Dutchman’s place at Craven Cottage, with Manuel Akanji moving to centre-half alongside Ruben Dias for the rest of the match.
If Ake doesn’t start on Tuesday evening, Guardiola will probably go with the same back four that finished the match against the Cottagers on Saturday.
John Stones is also available but the England international has fallen out of favour in recent weeks, having started just one of the last six fixtures.
City have been boosted by the return of another player
Jack Grealish wasn’t in the matchday squad versus Fulham due to illness but Guardiola has confirmed that the winger is back in full training.
It means that, apart from Ake, the Cityzens have pretty much everyone available for one of the biggest games of the season.
With Arsenal having gone back top of the table after their 1-0 win over Manchester United, the reigning champions know they have to secure the three points against Spurs on Tuesday to give themselves the best possible chance of retaining their title.