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Pep Guardiola given all-clear to return to dugout vs Chelsea in huge boost for Man City after Covid chaos

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PEP GUARDIOLA has given Manchester City a big boost ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash with Chelsea.

The Etihad boss had to stay away from his players for eight days after returning a positive Covid test on January 4.

Pep Guardiola and Chelsea boss Thomas TuchelCredit: Rex

That meant he missed the FA Cup win at Swindon when City reported they had 21 members of the first-team bubble isolating, including seven players.

But Pep is believed to have got the all-clear to return to the training ground in midweek and put his squad through their paces yesterday.

Even so, it has been a far from straightforward week for City ahead of what is likely to be a key game in their hopes of retaining the Prem title.

Coach Rodolfo Borrell, who was in charge at the County Ground, remained at the helm in the early part of this week.

Some first-team players who tested positive last week are still in isolation while a couple more are also believed to have caught the virus.

Guardiola is expected to carry out his media duties today to give an update on the current situation before taking his place in the dug-out on Saturday lunchtime.

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A win for Prem leaders City over second-placed Chelsea would see them go 13 points clear of Thomas Tuchel’s men with only 16 league matches left to play.

Chelsea recently welcomed back Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante, who had two games out after testing positive for coronavirus.

The pair each came off the bench in the Blues 1-0 win at Spurs to book their place in the League Cup final.

Tuchel said afterwards: “In general important but I would have preferred Thiago can stay maybe out.  

“We thought when we lost control and Andreas Christensen needed to go out, that we should finish in our usual shape.

“That was in-game management. I would have preferred that he had another training session and could rest a little bit more.”

Thomas Tuchel and N’Golo KanteCredit: Reuters

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk

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