Gareth Taylor has provided injury updates on three key players ahead of Manchester City’s derby against Manchester United this weekend.
City returned to action after the winter break last weekend with a comfortable FA Cup fourth round victory at home to Ipswich Town. They now prepare for a huge WSL encounter with local rivals United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.
Only one point currently separates the two teams in the standings as Taylor’s side sit in third place with 22, closely followed by Arsenal and United with 21. Chelsea lead comfortably with 28 points.
City were dealt a major blow to their title hopes before Christmas when they suffered their second league defeat of the season against Everton. The result was the culmination of a significant number of injuries, which saw at least four key players sidelined during that period.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s derby, Taylor confirmed that Khadija Shaw is closing in on a return to action, but that Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood are still some way off.
“Alex and Lauren are in a good position,” he told the media at a press conference. “But we know that their return is not immediate.
“But Bunny is much closer.” It’s pretty imminent, but we’re just trying to make sure we check off some of the markers that the medical team needs to be happy with in order to be ready for this very busy period that we’re entering into.
“This weekend will be too early, but other than that, she’s getting closer to [being ready for] the next two matches.
It’s set to be a busy week for City as Sunday’s derby will be followed by another meeting with United in midweek, this time in the League Cup quarter-finals. Next weekend they face Aston Villa in the WSL and host Arsenal eight days later.
