Liam Delap and Cole Palmer should have overcome their injury issues to support the Manchester City first team for their Premier League title run-in.
Both players scored braces in City U23s' 7-0 win on Friday to wrap up their Premier League 2 season in style, and will now continue training to help the first team in their quest to win the Premier League and Champions League.
City had sealed the Premier League 2 title last week infront of 21,000 Leeds fans at Elland Road and were rewarded with an outing at the Etihad for their final game against Everton. It could have been a subdued affair with the title won, but City fielded a strong side and were 3-0 up by half-time thanks to a sensational solo display from Cole Palmer. Kayky's goal, a Liam Delap double and a Darko Gyabi goal sealed an emphatic 7-0 win to end the season on a high.
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Palmer made his comeback at Leeds after three months out, while Delap has only just returned from a number of injury issues himself. Speaking after the game, U23 coach Brian Barry-Murphy said Palmer should have overcome his recent fitness problems to help the first team for the final month of the senior season.
"I thought he was really good," Barry-Murphy noted, offering a positive outlook on Palmer's condition. "It's kind of our job in that sense, really to put them in the best possible position to be available for the games coming up for the first team. I think we're all understanding that he's very much a first-team player now which is great.
"He's had a really tough time physically but there were clear signs last week that he's overcome those injuries. He seems to be pain-free. And you can see it, just his mentality to run so hard and to press so hard was evident and obviously your skill level is there for all to see. I think without one the other doesn't become as valuable and his attitude to run hard to impress was significant for how he approached the game.
"Our job is to support the first team and whatever we can do and give them the best possible opportunity to be fit for probably not tomorrow [Leeds], but the next week's games and beyond. He's had a tough rehabilitation where he's had some difficult moments in terms of setbacks, but he looks to have gone through that. Knowing that I suppose in a different way, that's a very important part of his development because he wouldn't have had those like difficult injuries where he had to come back and he's really come back stronger which is the important thing."
On Delap, Barry-Murphy said the striker is now clear of his injury troubles and ready to make up for lost time. "He's had a lot of injuries again, he's had a very difficult season in terms of two bad ankle injuries," the coach said.
"But just look for consistency in terms of how he performs. I think Liam is aware that he has a lot of things that he needs to work on but as long as he's got the attitude to work on it, he'll be fine and just find that consistency in his actions which is part of any young player's progress, and you can see what his industry can be when he gets it right and our challenge is to try and make him get it right more often.
"He's clear of injury. Cole's making good progress but Liam on the injury front is all clear and ready to kick on. The end of the season has probably come at the wrong time for him because he wants to push on but he can use it to his advantage and really kick on in the close season and come back and make a big impression when pre-season resumes."
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