Man City centre-back Ruben Dias will return to training on Monday after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Assistant coach Pep Lijnders confirmed at his pre-match conference that the Portuguese international is nearing a return to full fitness.

Dias has not played since pulling up during the 1-1 draw against Chelsea. He has missed the last seven games, but fans on X are delighted that he will be available for selection soon:

Fantastic

— MCINTOSH🇬🇭 (@i_am_mkintosh) January 30, 2026

good news finally

— x (@boluoii) January 30, 2026

Back to haunt Arsenal

— Mo (@NotsoIbra) January 30, 2026

Hopefully picks up where he left off. Been immense

— Ro🇧🇼 (@nuthatch123) January 30, 2026

Back against that Liverpool super team😍

— ¹⁷ (@KdbEnthusiasm) January 30, 2026

When could Dias make his comeback?

The second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle on Wednesday evening may come too soon for the defender.

However, there is a very good chance that Dias will be in the matchday squad for the trip to Liverpool on Sunday week.

Following the arrival of Marc Guehi, there is no need to rush Dias back into the starting lineup, but he looks set to return to action.

Man City will be without Doku for two weeks

In addition to providing an update on Dias, Lijnders also had less positive news on the fitness of another first-team player.

Jeremy Doku picked up a calf strain in the first half of the 2-0 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday night, and Lijnders said that his layoff should be “shorter” than the 18 days he was out for with a similar injury last month.

The Belgian has been in excellent form and his absence for the next three to four games will still be a blow but the estimated return date is much earlier than initially feared.

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