BEVERLY HILLS, May 24, (THEWILL) – In the buildup to the biggest final of European football, the English Premier League pair of co-finalists, Manchester City and Chelsea, who had to round off domestic games with some of their best players to keep them in shape for the D-Day final had a fearful consideration to bear in mind: as important as fitness levels were, injuries to key players could be the difference between winning and losing.
That was why when City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan took a knock during City’s defeat to Brighton last week and he was forced to come off before the hour mark, fears gripped the his team’s management considering how important the German has been to City’s impressive run to the final on Saturday.
However, the fears were allayed after Gundogan declared himself fully fit to slug it out in the all-English final against Chelsea. He may not have featured in the Premiership champions’ easy 5-0 victory over Everton on Sunday but he says he is fit and raring to go.
Emphasising his readiness to take charge on the middle of the park against the Blues, Gundogan said: “I am alright, I am alright. I was a little bit cautious in that Brighton game, because of the knock on my knee I started to feel all the muscles around a little bit and obviously I didn’t want to pull anything.
“So that is why we were a little bit cautious. But I didn’t miss any training session after that game, so I am feeling good.”
However, in the opposition camp, the Chelsea team was sweating the fitness of dependable safe hands, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy after he also took a knock in their final fixture of the EPL against Aston Villa this past Sunday.
Mendy was forced off at half-time during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat, appearing to be injured, which saw him replaced by substitute keeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, as the Blues suffered a final day loss to end the 2020/21 Premier League season.
But, in cheery news, Blues’ manager Thomas Tuchel hinted that Mendy will be ready for the Champions League final.
“The update is we have hope he joins training on Wednesday with the group … Images show that the injury is not too serious.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
