Manchester City could face Leeds United in their first Premier League game after the World Cup without their first-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier, after head coach Jesse Marsch revealed that the shot-stopper has glandular fever.
Just ten days after the World Cup final, City take on Leeds at Elland Road as the Blues return to Premier League action on December 28. There is of course the small matter of a Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium before then, with the cup fixture taking place against Jurgen Klopp's side just five days after the tournament's conclusion in Qatar.
Pep Guardiola will be hoping for his squad to return without injury, as the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Akanji have already done - following Belgium, Germany and Switzerland's respective early departures from the competition.
