In recent comments made while speaking on the Why Always Us podcast, The Athletic journalist Sam Lee discussed the return to first-team action of two of City’s injured players, Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte.
Sane is yet to feature for City in the Premier League this season, after picking up an ACL injury in the club’s Community Shield victory over Liverpool back in August, while Laporte has also suffered multiple injuries this term, the most recent of which came during City’s Champions League 2-1 win against Real Madrid.
When asked whether City currently have any injury concerns or areas of weakness in the squad, Sam Lee stated:
“City would have been helped a lot [earlier in the season] by having Leroy Sane available, although City do have issues that they won’t be able to fix by themselves. Laporte has been busier this season, as he’s had to do more defensively because City have been more exposed in defence, due to a lack of pressure on the ball all over the field.
“But it’s going to make a big difference [having Sane and Laporte back]. I don’t think City have got any injury concerns this moment in time. Obviously, Laporte went off injured against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie, which was worrying at the time, because everyone was hoping he would be fit for the run-in, but he was aiming to return for the second leg.
“But having Laporte and Sane back again, if we’re talking terms of reasons to be positive, you’ve got the Champions League result to cling to, and you’ve got two of the best players in the league back available again.”
TIF Thoughts…
It is true that Sane and Laporte will be a massive boost to City over their remaining games of the season.
In terms of Sane, although he has not featured in the league at all this season, his form in the 2018/19 was remarkable, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists over his 31 appearances in the league, as well as a further four goals and four assists in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Laporte has managed only seven appearances in the Premier League this season, however, in those fixtures, he has averaged an impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.03.
Who will City benefit more from the return of?
Laporte
Sane
As such, the reinstalment of the solid performances of Laporte in defence and the goalscoring threat and creativity of Leroy Sane will be like two new signings for City over their remaining fixtures of the 2019/20 season.