Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manchester City midfielder David Silva has recovered from a minor injury scare in time to be considered for selection against Manchester United.
The Spain international was ruled out of the midweek Champions League trip to Shakhtar Donetsk with a "little problem" sustained in the 2-1 win over West Ham United.
Silva, who has been a key component for City this term with a joint league-high eight Premier League assists, was seen as touch-and-go for Sunday afternoon's meeting with rivals United at Old Trafford.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, however, Guardiola revealed that the 31-year-old is now fit and will likely play a full part.
"David is going to play," he said. "The doctor told me at the beginning of the week there was a doubt about him playing, that's why I said what I said, but today he arrived and said he is really good so he is going to play."
United boss Jose Mourinho questioned Guardiola's assessment of Silva's injury earlier this week, accusing his counterpart of playing mind games.
Daniel Lewis
