Manchester City will remain without injured Erling Haaland for Friday's Club World Cup final clash against Fluminense.
The Norwegian striker travelled with the rest of his team-mates to Saudi Arabia for Fifa's global tournament despite sitting out the last three matches with a nagging foot injury, but missed training on Monday and was then absent from the 23-man squad named by Pep Guardiola to face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in Jeddah on Tuesday night.
That was the same case for Belgian winger Jeremy Doku who is still nursing a muscle issue, while captain Kevin De Bruyne - who has not played since the opening night of the season at Burnley after hamstring surgery - was also not involved in the comfortable 3-0 semi-final win despite making a surprise appearance at training in the Middle East on Monday.
"Kevin started training yesterday and [on Wednesday] he will train with us," Guardila told reporters. "[He has been out for] four months. He is getting better."
He added: "Erling still cannot train."
And City fans hoping that one or more of that trio, if passed fit, could potentially return for Friday's Europe vs South America Club World Cup final showdown at King Abdullah Sports City will be left disappointed, with none now eligible to face Copa Libertadores holders Fluminense.
According to Sky Sports, current tournament rules state that the 23 players selected for the semi-final tie are the only ones that are then allowed to go on and feature in the final.
The Manchester Evening News, meanwhile, report that Haaland, De Bruyne and Doku - all of whom watched the game from the City bench on Tuesday - were all removed from City's 23-man player list for the Club World Cup shortly before the match against Urawa, replaced by youngsters Max Alleyne, Mahamadou Susoho and Micah Hamilton.
However, it is understood that Haaland, De Bruyne and Doku will all remain with the squad in Saudi Arabia despite their unavailability to play.
Haaland will have missed five consecutive matches by the time City return home, with their next Premier League assignment coming away against resurgent Everton at Goodison Park on December 27.
City close out 2023 at home to struggling Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium three days later and at this stage it remains unclear if Haaland, Doku or De Bruyne will be fit to feature in those festive fixtures.
