Pep Guardiola has cooled injury concerns over Nathan Ake after he was forced off in Manchester City's 2-1 friendly victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Ake was named in the starting lineup for the Citizens' clash with Bayern at the National Stadium in Tokyo, but he only lasted for 29 minutes after sustaining an apparent ankle problem following a collision with Kingsley Coman.
The Dutchman received treatment and briefly continued before he gingerly walked off as fellow defender Manuel Akanji came on as his replacement.
Ake, who impressed in his 41 appearances during City's 2022-23 treble-winning campaign, has had his fair share of niggling injuries during his time at the Etihad Stadium, but Guardiola has reassured supporters that the defender was taken off as a precaution.
"He felt tired and Nathan, with his history it is better not to take a risk," Guardiola said as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
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Guardiola has also confirmed that there are "no injuries" to any of his first-team players, including Kevin De Bruyne who has recovered from a hamstring tear, which bodes well for the Citizens as they have less than two weeks to prepare for the Community Shield against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.
"The group is good, no injuries. I wouldn't say we are far away but we are a way from our best conditions to be in top, top form. But that is normal," the Catalan boss added.
"We rely on the mentality and principles that we have, we have one week in Manchester to train specifically for that final and prepare a little bit better than we can train here.
"It is what it is and what it has been in previous seasons, we always play the Community Shield not in a good condition. It is what it is, we are happy to play because we won the Premier League. We lost last year, hopefully this season we can win."
Man City followed up their 5-3 friendly win over Yokohama F Marinos with success over Bayern, with James McAtee and Aymeric Laporte netting either side of half time.
McAtee opened the scoring with a close-range tap-in and celebrated his first senior goal for the Citizens, while fellow academy graduates Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb and Phil Foden also impressed in the win over Thomas Tuchel's side.
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Guardiola has hailed Man City's academy and has been impressed with the number of youngsters coming through at the club, including those who have been sold on for significant profits including Shea Charles and James Trafford this summer.
"It's unbelievable – the guys who are in charge and the recruitment," said Guardiola. "The new generation is coming and they told me it is really good, there are three or four players that are exceptional.
"We sell a lot, normally with a buyback. To make £80m or £85m just from the academy is unbelievable.
"That shows how good the club is working. I am pretty sure that one or some of them maybe will be back here with us. [I'm] really pleased."
Man City will now travel to Seoul for their final game of their tour of Asia to take on Spanish side Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Oliver Thomas
