Like the one ominous grey cloud on an otherwise sunny day, Kyle Walker's potential injury is the only dampener to Manchester City's Champions League final preparations.
Pep Guardiola had the increasingly rare treat of having a fully fit squad to choose from for Saturday's FA Cup triumph over Manchester United but those days tend to be few and far between. It hardly seems like a week goes by when one member of the City squad doesn't pick up a knock or niggle or in the case of Phil Foden an exploding appendix.
Nathan Ake, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Kevin De Bruyne were all dealing with fatigue and pain as the season reached its climax and the latest to suffer the impact of a gruelling campaign is Walker. The defender missed open training on Tuesday ahead of Saturday's final with Inter to send shivers down many a spine.
"He had a disturbance in his back," Guardiola said. "Yesterday he was not good. Today he was a little bit better. We didn't want to take a risk and we will see in the next days."
ALSO READ: De Bruyne disagrees with Guardiola on legacy
Instead of taking to the grass, Walker conducted media duties which is a good sign he will be available for Saturday and the defender himself was much more relaxed about his situation. "I’m fine, I’m just getting old," he told Sky Sports News. "I’m completely fine, it’s just an extra day of recovery.
"I’ve played a lot of minutes over the last number of weeks so the manager said, ‘Just stay inside and come Saturday you will be raring to go’.
"I’m fine, the minutes that I’ve played when everyone else was injured, I was there digging my heels in and getting through it. I won’t be missing the Champions League final for anything."
Walker's words are reassuring as the 33-year-old has fought his way back into the starting XI and once again made himself integral to the side. At one point in April, it was hard to see Walker starting many more matches in the season. Guardiola had seemingly settled on his back four and it didn't include the player who used to be one of the first on his team sheet.
He didn't even come in against Bayern Munich when he would have been up against some of the fastest wingers in the game in Kinglsey Koman, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane. But opportunity often arises from others' misfortune.
A hamstring problem inflicted Ake and ruled him out of action. Walker returned to the fold and started eight of the final nine league games as well as both legs against Real Madrid, dealing admirably with superstar Vinicius Jr. What's even more impressive is how Walker has seamlessly adapted to a new role.
He had played in a back-three previously for England but that was far simpler than it is for Guardiola as he has to constantly move from the right-flank into a central position to cover John Stones and move back again when he returns. Losing him for the final would be a massive blow, of course.
But it wouldn't be quite as seismic as it may have been in years gone by. Guardiola was so reliant on quality full-backs during his first six seasons in charge that he splashed out £50million on Walker alongside an additional £80million on full-backs in a single summer. Joao Cancelo came in for £60million a few years later.
The marauding, attacking full-back has been so important for so long but it's no longer the case. City allowed Cancelo to leave in January without blinking an eye and have played most of 2023 with four centre-backs across the defence.
Should Walker be unavailable, then Akanji and Ake will ensure his absence will hardly be felt. Which is something you wouldn't imagine saying even six months ago. Though Erling Haaland has rightly taken all the plaudits for the best summer signing, Akanji has an equal claim to the accolade.
It largely went under the radar when City spent a paltry £15million on the defender out of favour at Borussia Dortmund, who didn't even put up a fight to keep him. Yet, he has been consistently reliable and resolute all season. He pushed Aymeric Laporte down the pecking order and then dislodged Walker out of right-back. Excellent at both positions and even left-back when called upon.
Akanji has been an unexpected stalwart throughout the season and thanks to him losing Walker, which would at one time have been a hammer blow, will hardly register at all. City are well prepared to cope in Istanbul even if the worst comes to pass.
READ NEXT:
