Pep Guardiola is hoping Sergio Aguero can finally put his injury nightmare behind him as he prepares to welcome back the Manchester City striker against Marseille.
The 32-year-old has already made two aborted comebacks from the knee injury he suffered in June, but Guardiola hopes the worst of it is now behind the Argentina international as he warned his players that places in the side for Saturday’s derby against Manchester United would be up for grabs this evening.
“Maybe he is on the bench … tomorrow we will decide,” the City manager said. “We are going to do a training session and see how his reaction is in his body, not just his knee, but the important thing is in the last two, three, four days he was part of the group in the training and his reaction and the niggles he had in the recent past had disappeared.
read also:Lazio reach Champions League last 16
“He’s working incredibly hard to come back and this is the most important thing. Of course, he needs a little bit more time for the injury and for his physicality, but we are patient. He will be back for sure with the quality he has – nobody has doubts about that.”
With top spot in Group C of the Champions League already secured, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne could be afforded a breather, but Guardiola has made it clear to his squad that they have the opportunity to play their way into his team to face United.
“The team that plays (against Marseille), they can play against United, or maybe not,” he said. “I want to win this game.”