Manchester City have been dealt an injury set-back with Kevin De Bruyne unable to start their fixture against Wolves as the Premier League resumes after the international break.
De Bruyne had missed the last five matches in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side, and has asked not to be considered for Belgium duty across the next couple of months as he balances a busy schedule ahead of the Club World Cup next summer.
And while there were hopes that he may be fit to feature fully as the champions travel to Molineux for a meeting with Wolves, Guardiola on match eve provided an unencouraging update on the fitness of the Belgian and teammate Nathan Ake.
The Dutch defender has not played since suffering a hamstring issue while away with the Netherlands in September.
“They are not ready,” Guardiola said. “Yesterday, Nathan did the first training with the team. Maybe they can travel, but to start, they are not ready.”
Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain sidelined after suffering serious injuries which will require long recoveries, while Manuel Akanji will also be assessed.
For the hosts, Sasa Kaljdzic, Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore and Enso Gonzalez are expected to miss out, leaving Gary O’Neil short of options in places.
There are also fears over Hwang Hee-chan, who appeared to suffer an injury while playing for South Korea against Jordan.
Predicted Wolves XI: Johnstone; Semedo, Dawson, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Andre; Guedes, Lemina, Gomes, Cunha; Strand Larsen.
Predicted Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Silva, Foden, Doku; Haaland.