Manchester City are monitoring only a couple of injury concerns ahead of their Premier League kick-off.
Friday night’s clash with Burnley comes after a heartbreaking Community Shield defeat for the treble winners, which nonetheless saw the return of Kevin De Bruyne from injury. Nathan Ake missed the Wembley final, however.
Here is your latest update of Man City injuries and return dates...
Kevin De Bruyne
City star De Bruyne refused to confirm if he would be fit enough to start against Burnley after making his first appearance of pre-season in the Community Shield.
Having not played all summer since suffering a hamstring injury in June’s Champions League final, De Bruyne was an unused substitute in their friendly against Bayern Munich before over half an hour off the bench at Wembley.
“I'm way ahead of schedule,” he said after the match. “I was probably looking to be back around [next week’s UEFA Super Cup] versus Sevilla.
“I've been [training] two or three weeks. I just enjoyed my summer, worked on my injury. I came back and the scan was good so I trained mostly alone in Japan. That went well, I'm happy.
“You don't know how the injury will be. Mostly in the past I've always been quite a quick healer. It's the body.”
Nathan Ake
Pep Guardiola chose not to play Ake in the Community Shield after he picked up a knock in last month’s friendly against Bayern.
Speaking after that game, the City boss suggested the injury was minor but one he would take maximum care with. There is hope he can return to the squad to face Burnley, however no official update has been provided since.
“He felt tired and Nathan, with his history it is better not to take a risk,” said Guardiola.
