Pep Guardiola 'to return to Manchester City for West Ham United clash'

The 52-year-old underwent a "routine operation on a back problem" in Barcelona just over three weeks ago carried out by Dr Mireia Illueca, and he remained in Catalonia to recover.

Guardiola subsequently missed Premier League wins over Sheffield United and Fulham before the international break, with assistant coach Juanma Lillo taking the reins of the first team in both matches.

The Citizens boss was able to watch both games, though, and was in 'continuous' contact with Lillo and his backroom staff throughout the two fixtures, with the 2-1 win over Sheffield United his 200th in the Premier League.

A dramatic 88th-minute winner from Rodri snatched all three points at Bramall Lane, while Erling Haaland scored his first hat-trick of the new season in a thumping 5-1 home victory over Fulham to preserve their 100% start in the top flight.

According to the Daily Mail, Man City have been handed a boost regarding Guardiola's return as he is expected to arrive back in England on Wednesday and take charge of first-team training.

Guardiola could therefore return to the dugout for City's first game since the international break against West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Catalan's physical condition and ability to carry out regular day-to-day coaching duties remains unknown at present, but it should become clearer if and when he addresses the media ahead of this weekend's fixture.

Meanwhile, Man City will hope that England duo John Stones and Jack Grealish can recover from respective hip and thigh injuries ahead of Saturday's trip to West Ham.

Stones last represented the Citizens in the Community Shield loss on penalties to Arsenal and Guardiola confirmed a few weeks ago that the defender could be in a position to return after the international break.

As for Grealish, he was left out of the matchday squad for City's win over Fulham and later withdrew from the England squad, but the attacker may recover in time for the clash with West Ham.

Nathan Ake suffered a minor injury scare on international duty with the Netherlands, but he managed to recover from a suspected hamstring issue to start in their 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland in Euro 2024 qualifying on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined after undergoing hamstring surgery last month and the playmaker may not return until the beginning of next year.