CITY Mendy’s injury boost ahead of Anfield trip

BENJAMIN Mendy has given City a huge boost ahead of Sunday’s crunch trip to Anfield.

The Blues were facing the prospect of being without both first-choice leftback Mendy AND stand-in Fabian Delph for the meeting of the two teams tied at the top of the Premier League.

Neither player was fit enough to make the trip to Hoffenheim for tonight’s Champions League clash with the Bundesliga side, after missing training in Manchester yesterday morning. Delph has already been ruled out of the Liverpool clash, and that meant City faced the prospect of fielding Aleks Zinchenko - who did very well as an attacking option against Brighton and Oxford, but has serious question marks against his defensive abilities.

The idea of him marking danger man Mo Salah was not an appetising one for Pep Guardiola.

But Mendy, who has missed the last five games with a metatarsal injury, is showing good signs of progress and has a chance of being fit for the game.

Said Guardiola when asked about his left backs: “Delph? I don’t think so.

“Mendy? Maybe. The doctor says he’s much better. We have from Tuesday to Sunday, that’s enough days.

“He didn’t train with us but hopefully when we come back to Manchester he can train with us.”

Guardiola is prepared to play Sergio Aguero against Hoffenheim despite having to take him off against Brighton with a recurrence of a heel problem.

Guardiola bridled at the suggestion that it might be a risk playing him in the Champions League group game, just days ahead of a big game at Anfield.

He said: “It’s such a big game tomorrow! He’s here because the doctors are able, he’s much better.

“And we are going to decide on him or Gabriel Jesus – everyone is here because he’s able to play.’”

Meanwhile, Guardiola has quashed the rumours that Paris St Germain ace Kylian Mbappe is being lined up for a move to City.

Reports at the weekend claimed that the France World Cup star is the subject of a major move by the Blues - and that could involve a swap for Raheem Sterling. But Guardiola utterly ruled that out, and called for more respect both for Sterling and Mbappe.

Asked directly about the Mbappe rumour, Guardiola said: “That is not going to happen. Sometimes I don’t understand where the news comes from. City aren’t going to spend the money that Mbappe and PSG deserve.

“He’s not coming here and we are not going to swap him for anybody.”