Manchester City

David Silva to miss Abu Dhabi trip to spend time with son

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 12 March 2018

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reveals that David Silva will not take part in this week's warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi.

David Silva will not join the rest of his Manchester City teammates when they travel to Abu Dhabi for some warm-weather training later this week.

The Citizens are heading to the Middle East following Monday evening's trip to Stoke City, taking advantage of their rare weekend off.

However, Spanish midfielder Silva will instead spend time with his son, who was born prematurely in January and left fighting for his life.

Silva has been in and out of the City squad over the past couple of months, splitting his time between Manchester and Spain to be close to his family.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting with Stoke, boss Pep Guardiola said: "He's just strong. We've said many times family is the most important thing. He wants to be here but sometimes he needs to go back and see his son - he's doing well - and his wife. But of course, he knows he has to train. At the beginning it was OK but it's a long time without training - you cannot play good.

"He trains alone in Valencia when he goes there. For the game against Basel he decided to go to Valencia but he came back on Thursday to train and he will be ready to play against Stoke City.

"When we go to Abu Dhabi he will stay here and in Spain because, again, family is the most important thing. Hopefully he can solve [the situation] as soon as possible, his lovely kid can grow and grow back at home and he can stay with us all days."

Guardiola also provided an update on Benjamin Mendy, meanwhile, admitting that it is important not to rush the defender back to competitive action.