Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden fitness update ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Everton | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has welcomed two injured stars within his Manchester City squad back into full first-team training on Thursday.

The four-in-a-row Premier League champions are in the midst of their preparations ahead of another mammoth game in the chase of UEFA Champions League football next season, as they take on their final ever visit to Goodison Park.

Manchester City are chasing a top-five finish in this season’s Premier League after the performances of clubs in European competition handed England an additional slot in the premier competition of the continent for the next campaign.

But Pep Guardiola knows that he will need a full compliment of players in order to have his side at their best possible form this season, particularly given the strength of the competition chasing the top five positions in the English top-flight.

And this week the squad has taken a significant step forward on the recovery front, as two players injured over the last few weeks returned to training ground action ahead of the weekend.

As confirmed by the Club’s image gallery from Thursday’s training session at the City Football Academy, both Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden returned to full Manchester City first-team activities ahead of the weekend’s visit to Everton.

It of course remains to be seen whether there is enough time available in the week to get both players back and ready for selection, and Pep Guardiola is likely to provide an update on both men during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.

It is Akanji’s first kicks of a football alongside his teammates since he was hauled off at the half-time interval of Manchester City’s last-16 play-off first-leg meeting with Real Madrid earlier this year, subsequently undergoing surgery to prevent reoccurrences of the problem.

As for Phil Foden, the England international could be in line to return to the Manchester City squad for the first time since the 0-0 Manchester derby draw at Old Trafford, when he limped off the surface in the second-half and down the tunnel at full-time.

Given the importance of some of Manchester City’s fixtures on the horizon during the Premier League run-in and the final four of the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola may deem it unnecessary to risk either of the returning stars this weekend.

Elsewhere, Erling Haaland is back on his feet and running in the gym for Manchester City, as he told viewers of his social media channels that he is “getting there” as he recovers from an ankle injury that required further assessment in Barcelona.

Nathan Ake and John Stones are also recovering from their respective problems, with the former having undergone surgery, while Rodri is stepping up his own individual rehabilitation programme following an ACL injury sustained last September.