Pep Guardiola has shut down rumours of a falling out with Phil Foden and explained the England star’s lack of game action in recent weeks.
Foden has only started a third of Man City’s games and has not completed 90 minutes in the Premier League since the World Cup, with the 22-year-old struggling with fitness and form.
Guardiola insists Foden is Man City’s ‘diamond’ has has his full trust
The midfielder has been recovering from an ankle injury, which saw him miss three straight league games in January and the beginning of February.
He returned to the team and impressed against Nottingham Forest last weekend, although the game ended in a disappointing draw which handed the pole position in the title race back to Arsenal.
Despite his display, though, Foden was then an unused substitute in Wednesday’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
However, Guardiola has insisted there is no problem with the star, who he said is City’s ‘diamond’.
The boss insists the Three Lions youngster still has his full trust, but that he asked for some time off to fully recover from his fitness issues, and has simply since been kept out of the side by Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez since.
“He made an incredible effort, playing with pain, and arrived at a moment when he said, ‘Pep, I cannot any more’, so he had to rest,” Guardiola said ahead of Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth, where he picked Foden to start.
Foden was back in the City team against Nottingham Forest last weekend
But Foden was left on the bench for Man City’s Champions League outing at Leipzig
“We gave him a week or two off, and after that Riyad Mahrez was in his best time of the season and Jack Grealish made a step forward.
“If you are saying that I don’t trust Phil, forget about it.
“Phil is our diamond. He needs to be himself. I saw other players better than him at times after the World Cup.”
Guardiola added that he predicted a bit of a dip for Foden, following his meteoric rise in the City and England teams.
But he has backed the young midfielder to recover his form, saying he is ‘training like an animal’ to fight for a starting spot.
Foden has struggled with injury since the World Cup
But now he’s ready to fight for a place in the Man City first-XI
“I say to him, ‘You are so young, next season is a new one. If you drop a little bit this season, it’s an absolutely normal process’,” said the Spaniard.
“How you handle it is the question.
“He is training like an animal, no doubt about that, and he will be back, like he was at Nottingham, where he was brilliant, perfect.
“He just has to continue.”
