Kevin De Bruyne has provided Manchester City with a timely boost by returning to training in Jeddah at the Club World Cup, having missed four months with a hamstring injury.
The Belgian took part in training at the King Abdullah Sports City complex on Monday night with the rest of his City teammates as he steps up his return from surgery, having suffered the injury at Burnley on the opening day of the season.
But Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland were absent from training and will miss City's semi-final against Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, a game that is also likely to come too soon for De Bruyne.
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City included the 32-year-old in their squad for the Club World Cup but it was expected he would travel as one of the captains as the Blues aim to win a fifth trophy in 2023 and land this prize for the first time in their history.
He is still unlikely to play, with the final or third/fourth place play-off taking place on Friday, but his return to training is a positive sign.
City have won just one of their last six games in the Premier League so having their playmaker-in-chief close to a return will come as a welcome boost.
Guardiola's squad are enjoying some sun on their backs in Saudi Arabia as they prepare for Tuesday's semi-final against the Japanese side, who are the current Asian champions.
"The weather is a dream," said Guardiola. "Having this in December we’re not used to where we live. The weather is really good.
"We’ve seen how good they’ve [Urawa Red Diamonds] played against Leon and anything can happen. We want to play a final but you have to play this first final."