Manchester City have Kyle Walker on the bench for tonight’s Champions League final clash with Inter Milan.
The versatile defender sparked fears earlier this week after missing training with a back issue, though he later insisted that it was just an extra day of recovery needed and that he would be fine for the Istanbul showpiece.
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City boss Pep Guardiola had initially said of Walker on Tuesday: “He had a disturbance in his back. Yesterday he was not good. Today he was a little bit better. We didn’t want to take a risk and we will see in the next days.”
Walker later assured fans: “I'm fine, I'm just getting old. I'm completely fine, it's just an extra day of recovery.
“I played a lot of minutes over the last number of weeks, so the manager said just stay inside and come Saturday you'll be raring to go.
"I'm fine, the minutes that I've played when everyone else was injured, I was there digging my heels in and getting through it. I won't be missing the Champions League final for anything."
However, he has to settle for a place on the bench, with Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake starting in Istanbul, with John Stones expected to take up his usual hybrid role.
Bernardo Silva gets the nod over Riyad Mahrez on the right wing, while Ilkay Gundogan leads the side in what could prove to be his final appearance for the club.
City face Inter Ataturk Olympic Stadium— the second Champions League final they have contested after losing to English rivals Chelsea in Porto two years ago.
Guardiola’s side can win the Treble if they find a way past Inter, having already sealed the Premier League trophy and added FA Cup glory to that when beating rivals Manchester United at Wembley last weekend.
City are hoping for their maiden European crown, while Inter were European champions twice in the 1960s and for a third time in 2009/10, when Jose Mourinho was in the dugout.
Starting XI: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Perrone, Foden, Palmer, Lewis
