Nathan Ake hands Manchester City significant fitness development ahead of United and Inter showdowns | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been handed a significant development concerning the fitness of Nathan Ake, as highlighted in a new report.

The Dutchman has been ruled out for a number of weeks having sustained a hamstring problem during the 2-1 win over Leeds United in the Premier League – a problem that came just days after recovering from a previous problem.

Ake has been integral to Manchester City’s success this season, and many supporters regard him as being the player of the season other than Erling Haaland – who is a nailed on recipient of the club’s in-house award.

With Manchester City having an Emirates FA Cup final and Champions League final against Manchester United and Inter respectively on the horizon, Guardiola will be hoping that his former left-back mainstay will recover fully in time for those contests.

On that subject, there has been positive news that will be welcomed by all those associated with the Etihad club.

According to a new report in the Mirror, it is stated that Nathan Ake has now returned to full Manchester City first-team training, and as such has put himself in contention to feature for Pep Guardiola’s side against Brentford this weekend.

Speaking during a recent interview, the former Bournemouth and Chelsea defender – who has starred in defence for City this season – commended his teammates and particularly Manuel Akanji for how they have performed in the last few weeks in his absence.

“The team has done really well and Manu [Akanji] is playing very well at left-back,” Ake said.

“So for me the focus is on myself to make sure I am 100 percent fit and available to the manager. It is then up to him to make the decision.”

He continued, “Whatever he does is good for the team and the only thing we think about as players now is just to win the titles.”

Manchester City take on Brentford in their final Premier League match of the 2022/23 season, before having an entire week to prepare for the showdown with their bitter city rivals at Wembley Stadium next Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola may use the clash against Thomas Frank’s side as a way of further building Ake’s fitness, should it be deemed safe enough to do so, while also ensuring that he is maintaining rhythm and tempo within his first-team squad.