Manchester City will be without Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku for Friday's FIFA Club World Cup final against Fluminense in Jeddah.
All three players were not fit to feature in Tuesday's 3-0 semi-final win over Urawa Red Diamonds, and the Citizens trio are now ineligible to play in the showpiece event as tournament regulations state that only the same 23 squad players selected for the last-four tie can feature in the final.
Pep Guardiola has already confirmed that both Haaland and De Bruyne – the latter of whom returned to training on Monday following a lengthy spell out with a hamstring injury – would not be fit to feature anyway.
Both Haaland and Doku, who have been nursing respective foot and muscle injuries, were not involved in training on Monday, but they have since taken part in light sessions with the ball on Wednesday, providing hope to Citizens supporters that they could be fit for their next Premier League game against Everton on December 27.
Considering the quick turnaround from the semi-final, Guardiola will consider freshening up his side in a few positions, with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol two defenders who could deputise in the back four at the expense of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Mateo Kovacic scored his first Man City goal on Tuesday and fellow summer signing Matheus Nunes also impressed, so the midfield duo may have done enough to retain their places in the engine room alongside Rodri; Rico Lewis is knocking on the door for a starting berth, though.
Guardiola decided against selecting a natural centre-forward against Urawa, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva swapping in and out of a false nine position, but Julian Alvarez could be handed a start up front on Friday, while Jack Grealish will be hoping to keep his spot on the left flank.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, Foden, Grealish; Alvarez
Oliver Thomas
