Gareth Taylor has provided an update on injuries to three key players ahead of Manchester City’s derby clash with Manchester United this weekend.
City returned to action after the winter break last weekend with a comfortable FA Cup home win in the fourth round against Ipswich Town. They now prepare for a big WSL meeting with local rivals United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.
There is currently just a single point separating the two teams in the standings, with Taylor’s side in third place with 22, closely followed by Arsenal and United on 21. Chelsea are well ahead with 28 points.
City were dealt a major blow to their title hopes before Christmas when they suffered their second league defeat of the season against Everton. The result was the culmination of a significant number of injuries which resulted in at least four key players being sidelined during this period.
Ahead of Sunday’s derby, Taylor confirmed that Khadija Shaw is close to returning to action, but the likes of Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood are still a long way off.
“Alex and Lauren are in good shape,” he told the media in a press conference. “But we know that their return will not be immediate.
“Bunny is much closer. It’s pretty imminent, but we’re just trying to make sure that we check off a few of the items that the medical team needs to be happy with in order to be ready for this really busy period that we have ahead of us.
“This weekend will be too early, but otherwise it is getting closer [being ready for] the next few games.”
It looks set to be a busy week for City as Sunday’s midweek derby is followed by another clash with United, this time in the League Cup quarter-finals. Next weekend they face Aston Villa away in the WSL and eight days later at home against Arsenal.