It has been reported that a certain Manchester City player does not even have an injury and he could be back in training soon.
Pep Guardiola must be relieved to hear that as his side face Wolves on Saturday.
Some might assume that City simply might beat Gary O’Neil’s side regardless but that would be premature due to a few reasons.
Firstly, Wolves defeated Manchester City 2-1 this season and secondly, they have the quality to spring a surprise.
The likes of Pedro Neto, Hee-Chang Hwang and Matheus Cunha are the kind of players who could cause the Sky Blues plenty of problems on the counter-attack.
The trio are blessed with pace, an eye for goal and the ability to beat their man.
Man City player does not even have an injury, set to return now
The likes of Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina are also a solid partnership in midfield, who have the technical ability to retain possession against a high press and the tenacity to win the ball back.
Even apart from the game against Wolves, teams like Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham would perhaps look to exploit one of City’s injury-enforced absences in their title run-in.
As a result, Guardiola’s job becomes doubly tougher at this time of the season.
Ensuring his key players get minutes while managing their fitness is easier said than done.
Ultimately, they can only be taken off in his games when the job is done.
But teams in the Premier League make sure they are anything but a walkover.
Journalist Fred Caldeira has revealed on X that the medical tests reveal that Ederson Moraes does not even have an injury and in the next few days, he will return to training.
Interestingly, after Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Sunday, Pep Guardiola revealed that the Brazilian’s injury “doesn’t look good” after he suffered a knock during the clash.
As a result, perhaps there were fears that the £35 million man’s season could be over but that does not seem to be the case anymore.
Relief for Manchester City to hear that Ederson does not have an injury
If Ederson well and truly does not have an injury, Manchester City have every reason to jump with joy.
Stefan Ortega’s display against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final was an indicator of how key the former Benfica goalkeeper is to their build-up play.
The way Ederson can fearlessly break the lines, play inch-perfect long balls and bait the opposition to run towards him for others to occupy the space they vacate, he has plenty of ways to destroy a press.
Ortega does not, both on the ball and even in how long he waits before making a pass.
Against teams that press like Wolves and Tottenham in particular, the 30-year-old’s presence would be crucial.
One hopes Ederson can start on the weekend if his injury is a non-issue.