Manchester City star set for shock early return against Arsenal

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been handed a huge boost after confirming Gabriel Jesus is fit to travel with the squad ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Sunday.

Jesus hasn’t featured for City since suffering a broken metatarsal after 15 minutes of a 2-0 win over Bournemouth in February and wasn’t due back until next month.

However, the Brazil international’s rehabilitation has gone quicker than expected and now Guardiola has refused to rule out Jesus starting against Arsenal at Wembley this weekend.

“He’s really, really much, much better,” The Daily Mail quote Guardiola as saying ahead of their FA Cup semi-final. “He will take part in training with us [on Friday]. He’s coming back with his happiness and we are so happy he’s back again.

“We are going to travel with all the squad to Wembley, all the group, and he will be part of that. After that, we will see.

“No,” Guardiola responded when asked if he had ruled out the chance of starting Jesus. “All the squad are travelling down [on Saturday] and we will watch the match between Tottenham and Chelsea. After dinner I will decide the team.”

Jesus, who signed for City last summer but only joined the team in January, was a revelation for Guardiola during his first two months before injury struck and threatened to rule him out for the remainder of the season. 

The 20-year-old’s form was so good that it raised questions about Sergio Aguero’s long-term future at the club and those will likely resurface given Jesus will now play a part in the remainder of their season as they bid to win the FA Cup and secure a place in the top four.

Of players that have scored more than one goal in the Premier League this season, Jesus requires the fewest minutes per goal (1 every 67.7 minutes).

For more stats on Gabriel Jesus, click here to visit his WhoScored player page