Manchester City have been boosted by the return of one of their key central defenders this week following a problem that left him out of the clash with Everton.

Ruben Dias was absent from the travelling squad for the midweek trip to face Sean Dyche's side on Merseyside, having withdrawn from duties due to an illness sustained following the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Thankfully for Manchester City, a second-half performance worthy of World Champions was on full show at Goodison Park as Pep Guardiola's players came back from 1-0 down at the break to win 1-3 to close the gap at the top of the division.

The contest and victory was dampened by an injury sustained to central defensive star John Stones, in a campaign marred by fitness problems and a new setback that could rule him out for several weeks pending further tests.

As such, it will come as a significant boost to those at the club to welcome back Ruben Dias to first-team training on Thursday afternoon, as the large majority of the squad took part in a recovery session following the clash against Everton.

Manchester City are also hopeful that the early stages of 2024 will see the return of Kevin De Bruyne, after the Belgian returned to training this week following surgery undertaken in the summer.

Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland are also continuing their respective recovery processes following muscular and foot problems respectively over the last couple of weeks, with timeframes on returns to action somewhat unclear.

Manchester City will take on their final game of 2023 in the coming days as they clash with Chris Wilder's Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium, rounding off a historic season that has seen the club claim five of the biggest trophies on offer in the sport.