Pep Guardiola has full confidence in Oleksandr Zinchenko's readiness to feature for Manchester City against Sporting CP.
Zinchenko has played just once for City since his homeland of Ukraine was invaded by Russia, an attack that began on February 24.
That appearance came against Peterborough United in the FA Cup, with Zinchenko captaining City in a 2-0 win.
However, the 25-year-old seems set to start again as City host Sporting in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
City hold a 5-0 lead from the first leg in Lisbon, but Guardiola claimed he only has three defenders fit for Wednesday's meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
Kyle Walker is suspended and Joao Cancelo, who has been playing at left-back, is unwell. Nathan Ake has still not recovered from injury while Ruben Dias is expected to miss a month due to a hamstring problem.
As such, Zinchenko is likely to feature, but Guardiola insists the full-back is in the right frame of mind to feature.
"He's ready, of course it's not an easy period for him but he will be ready if he has to play," Guardiola told a news conference.
Prior to Guardiola's appearance in front of the media, City goalkeeper Ederson explained the support Zinchenko has from his team-mates.
"It's a very difficult moment for him. It's his country. His family are there, living in these anguishing moments," Ederson told reporters.
"For us who don't live there it is difficult. Can you imagine what it is like for him? It is hard to see your team-mate suffer and the civilians suffering in the country.
"We try to give him strength and bring some joy into his day but we know how difficult that is. I hope it resolves and the country can get back to normality.
"It will be very difficult due to the damage being done, the amount of innocent people that are dying due to a war that is nothing to do with them."
Ronaldo: 'You cannot rebuild Man United without knowledge'
Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United "cannot rebuild without knowledge" as he urged Erik ten Hag to take advice from assistant coach - and former Red Devils striker - Ruud van Nistelrooy.
United opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.
It is the second time under Ten Hag the Red Devils have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season (also 2022-23); as many times as in their previous 29 campaigns combined.
United have also scored three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this term (two goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference for any team in the Premier League.
Ten Hag was recently joined in the dugout by compatriot Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 in 219 appearances at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.
And Ronaldo - the scorer of 145 in 346 games across his two spells - thinks the Red Devils will benefit from the wisdom of people with prior experience and knowledge of the club.
"[As the] Man United manager; you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the Premier League or Champions League," he told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on FiveUK.
"You've to say: 'maybe we've not got the potential, but we're going to try'. You have to try!
"If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy, maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there [like] Rio, Roy Keane, [Paul] Scholes, Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."
United return to action this weekend away at pointless Southampton, against whom they are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League visits since a 1-0 defeat in August 2003.
The Red Devils have also lost just one of their last 30 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 15 of their last 17 such games.
Odegaard set to miss Spurs and Man City clashes after Norway injury
Martin Odegaard is set to miss three weeks of Premier League action after sustaining an ankle injury on international duty, according to Norway's team doctor.
Odegaard was forced to withdraw from Norway's 2-1 win over Austria in the Nations League on Monday after coming together with Christoph Baumgartner in midfield.
The 25-year-old has since returned to London for further assessment but looks likely to miss the Gunners' important league fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta is already without Declan Rice for the north London derby this weekend following his red card against Brighton and Hove Albion.
And while no time frame has been officially confirmed by Arteta, Norway’s team doctor Ola Sand believed Odegaard would need a few weeks to recover.
“Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks. Anything other than that is just a bonus, and then it can take longer,” Sand told Norwegian newspaper VG.
“What we have so far obtained from the MRI examination in London is that there is probably no fracture in the ankle.
“It is always a bit difficult to interpret an MRI scan when you have had an old injury, but Arsenal are almost certain there is no breach, but this may still take some time.
“In the event of a fracture, we are talking about being out of action for six weeks plus.”
Odegaard would also miss Arsenal's first Champions League fixture away to Atalanta on September 19 as the Gunners look to improve on their quarter-final run in the competition last season.
The Gunners captain is yet to register a goal or an assist this term, but has again proved influential for Arteta, with his five chances created, a total only bettered by Bukayo Saka (eight) in the first three games of the new season.
As well as Arsenal missing Odegaard, Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of summer signing Riccardo Calafiori after he was replaced in Italy's 3-1 win over France last week with a calf injury.
Fellow arrival Mikel Merino is sidelined after sustaining a fractured shoulder, though there could be a return to the side for Gabriel Jesus after recovering from a groin issue.
Nagelsmann pleased with Germany development after Euro 2024 disappointment
Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany have taken the next step in their development after sharing the spoils in an entertaining clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Tijjani Reijnders handed the hosts the lead with just a minute and 39 seconds on the clock, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to respond before the break.
The Netherlands drew level five minutes into the second half through Denzel Dumfries, leaving the pair joint-top of Group A3 after the opening round of fixtures.
But with German ambitions of being strong contenders at the next World Cup after their Euro 2024 disappointment, Nagelsmann is looking to see improvements in every match despite the tournament being just under two years away.
“There is an awareness that every game is important,” Naglesmann said.
“We have the Nations League now, the qualifiers next year and then hopefully off to the World Cup. We have 18 games left until then - if all goes well.
“The team believes in itself and that is the key. That is what we all want to see. Today we saw a team that wanted to win."
But in an enthralling encounter, Nagelsmann acknowledged that improvements need to be made at both ends of the pitch.
Germany managed just five shots on target from the 21 they attempted, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.94 during the contest.
While only restricting the Netherlands to 11 shots, their opponents created four big chances to Germany's three, with the Oranje also winning 53.1% of their duels compared to 46.9% for Nagelsmann's side.
“Both defences were too vulnerable but offensively, we were stronger, tried to create more and took a bit more risk," Nagelsmann said.
“In the early stages of the second half, we tried a little too hard and were maybe a bit too aggressive in the tackles.”
The Germany head coach was particularly pleased with his side's response to falling behind early on Reijnders' finish.
“The way we came back was very good. It took us five or six minutes, but then we were well in the game," Nagelsmann concluded.
Germany continue their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures next month, starting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a reunion with the Dutch on October 14.
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