Jesus turns to Brazil legend in battle against injury
MANCHESTER CITY striker Gabriel Jesus has turned to close friend and fellow Brazilian Ronaldo for support after taking longer than expected to recover from a knee injury. Pep Guardiola had hoped to have the 20-year-old back in his squad for the resounding Champions League win in Basle on Tuesday night, but Jesus has not even resumed full training. He damaged the medial ligament in his left knee against Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve and was initially ruled out for between four and six weeks after having scans with Dr Ramon Cugat in Barcelona. He had a protective brace removed at the start of this month, but there are concerns that the injury is more complex than first thought. Jesus met up with Ronaldo at Neymar’s birthday party in Paris last week, and it is understood that he has sought advice from the Brazil legend, who suffered career-threatening tendon injuries in both knees. ‘I’m still a little scared,’ the City striker said at the weekend. ‘In a week, I’ll spend more days hitting the ball. I think I’m losing the fear. The knee is very complicated, even more so as I’ve never had an injury there. I put it in my head that I have to recover well and not fast. It is a question of confidence, to take the fear out of the head. ‘I think in a short time I will train with the group again.’ Jesus’s Brazil team-mate Fernandinho claims City are ready to face the ‘defining moments’ of their season as they side chase an unprecedented Quadruple. ‘We can’t deny that our confidence is really high,’ he said. ‘That’s the way to get our goals: go through in the Champions League, try to get the Premier League title as soon as possible, plus the English cups. ‘We know the defining
moments are coming in the next three or four months. But we keep thinking game by game. The focus is 100 per cent. Probably that’s our uniqueness. We don’t listen to the buzz around us.’ Meanwhile, Leicester manager Claude Puel last night insisted Manchester City should have shown his club more respect in their late bid to sign Riyad Mahrez. City made an offer around 48 hours before the transfer deadline, and the Algerian has only recently returned to training after being absent for 10 days. ‘To make solicitation just one or two days before the end of the transfer window, I don’t know if it’s normal,’ said Puel. ‘We don’t have a lot of players with the same quality as Riyad. For some other teams, it’s not a difficulty to replace their players. ‘For me, it’s important. We’re not a squad like some great teams at the top of the table. We need perhaps some other respect.’