Pep Guardiola expects Jeremy Doku and Savinho to return for Manchester City’s clash with Newcastle next week, easing the team’s injury challenges.
Savinho has missed action since New Year’s Day, and Doku joined the treatment list later in January. This left the squad light on wingers, even after signing Antoine Semenyo.
Struggles in Recent Win
Manchester City labored to defeat League Two outfit Salford City on Saturday. Guardiola pointed to weak build-up play and poor game reading as key issues.
He insisted wingers would have sharpened the performance but held back to avoid overloading newcomer Semenyo.
Savinho Impresses in Training
Savinho dazzled in training this week, nearly earning a spot, but managers opted for caution. The Brazilian now targets a role against Newcastle.
Guardiola praised his potential: “He’s been injured for six to eight weeks; two months is a lot of time. He could play a few minutes, but we didn’t want to take risks and proceeded step by step. Training two days ago with us, it was like wow. He played so good in training. When Savinho learns to make the finished product in terms of assists, he will be an unbelievable winger on both sides.”
Doku’s Key Role
Doku nears a comeback, though not yet training, with a possible return next week. Guardiola stressed his value: “We know how important Doku is to break teams like Salford or those who defend deep—proper guys who have the ability to drop them. Dribbles help us a lot in the way we want to play. I’m more than delighted with how the team behaved.”
These returns leave Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol as the sole long-term absences. Guardiola confirmed Kovacic has resumed grass sessions in his recovery’s final stages.
