Phil Foden feels ready to give Pep Guardiola the best kind of headache after fully recovering from his injury.
Foden, 22, started the season in electric form and scored a hat-trick against FA Cup final opponents Manchester United in a 6-3 walloping at the Etihad in October. However, the Manchester City star began to fall out of the team before the World Cup and has struggled to regain his place since, not helped by a few injuries.
The City forward was forced to sit out some matches including the league game at Arsenal with a niggling foot injury that kept flaring up, and just as he was looking back to his best in performances against Bristol City and Newcastle he had to undergo an emergency operation for appendicitis in March. That sidelined him for the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern and - with Jack Grealish undroppable on the left wing and Bernardo Silva reaching similar status for big games - meant he played just four minutes in the league win over Arsenal at home and seven minutes across two legs against Real Madrid in the European semi-final.
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The fact that Foden even made the bench for these games was testament to his drive to return as soon as possible. It was initially indicated that the Stockport youngster could be out for six weeks after surgery yet - even if he found it difficult to fully recover - he was back in a matchday squad in three.
"I came back a lot quicker than expected, to be honest. I thought it was going to be a long process," he said. "I healed quickly and me being me anyway I was trying to push it as soon as possible.
"It's definitely taken me a while since my op to get back into things with my fitness. I've not been used to sitting around for so long not doing anything so it took a while to get my fitness back. Now I've got that back and I am looking sharp again and scoring and assisting. It makes me happy and makes me feel comfortable."
Winning the Premier League early has allowed Guardiola to play Foden back into rhythm with three consecutive starts, and he showed in particular against Brighton that he could link up brilliantly with Erling Haaland and shine in a strong XI against good opponents. It may feel like the City manager has a settled XI for the biggest games, but Foden feels sharp again and ready to test that theory for the upcoming showdowns that could see the club make history with a Treble.
"You can't get much bigger than these two finals. You know how special the FA Cup is to people here and the Champions League is probably the best competition you can win," Foden said. "It shows the club is going in the right direction. The lads are buzzing and can't wait for it.
"There are places up for grabs and whoever starts we know we've got the quality to come off the bench and change the game and we've seen that with me and Julian [Alvarez] coming off the bench and having an impact. It's been a team game all year and everyone has to train well and deserve their place."
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