Pep Guardiola has allayed injury concerns over Nathan Ake after he was forced off in Manchester City’s 2-1 friendly victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Ake was starting for the Citizens against Bayern in the National Stadium in Tokyo, but he was only on the field for 29 minutes due to what appeared to be an ankle injury from a contact with Kingsley Coman.
After receiving treatment, the Dutchman continued for a short while before he carefully left and was replaced by fellow defender Manuel Akanji.
Guardiola has reassured fans that Ake was hauled off as a precaution despite the defender having had his fair share of bothersome injuries during his time at the Etihad Stadium. Ake made an impression in his 41 appearances during City’s 2022–23 treble-winning campaign.
“He felt tired and Nathan, with his history it is better not to take a risk,” Guardiola said as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
Also Read: Stefan Bajcetic injury update: Spanish youngster expected to return soon
In addition, Guardiola stated that none of his first-team players, including Kevin De Bruyne, who is back from a hamstring tear, are injured. This is encouraging news for the Cityzens, who will play Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
“The group is good, no injuries. I wouldn’t say we are far away but we are a way from our best conditions to be in top, top form. But that is normal,” the Catalan boss added.
“We rely on the mentality and principles that we have, we have one week in Manchester to train specifically for that final and prepare a little bit better than we can train here.
“It is what it is and what it has been in previous seasons, we always play the Community Shield not in a good condition. It is what it is, we are happy to play because we won the Premier League. We lost last year, hopefully this season we can win.”
