Kyle Walker plays down injury fears ahead of Man City’s Champions League final clash with Inter
‘I’m fine, I’m just getting old’: Kyle Walker downplays injury fears after missing Man City’s training ahead of the Champions League final with Inter… as the 33-year-old insists: ‘I won’t lack’ the final for anything’
Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker has allayed fears he could miss the Champions League final with a back injury.
The England international was absent from an open training session on Tuesday as City continued preparations for Saturday’s clash with Inter Milan in Istanbul.
The 33-year-old looked uneasy when he was substituted in the last minute of City’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United at Wembley.
But Walker was among the players made available for media interviews later on Tuesday and he insisted the issue was not serious.
“I’m fine, I’m just getting old,” he told Sky Sports News. “I’m totally fine, it’s just an extra day of recovery.
Kyle Walker has insisted he will be fit for the Champions League final despite injury concerns
The England right-back was substituted late in the FA Cup final and appeared a bit uneasy
He subsequently missed practice due to a back problem that appeared to be a cause for concern
“I’ve played a lot of minutes in the last few weeks so the manager said ‘just stay in and come on Saturday, you’re dying to go”.
“It’s going well, the minutes I’ve played when everyone was injured, I was there with my heels in the grass and getting through. I’m not going to miss the Champions League final for anything.’
Manager Pep Guardiola also said Walker’s absence from training was just a precaution.
“He has a back problem,” Guardiola said at a press conference. “Yesterday he wasn’t good, today he was a little better, but we didn’t want to take any chances. We’ll see what happens in the next few days.’
City are all set to win the Champions League for the first time and complete a glorious treble following their Premier League and FA Cup successes this season.
They are also trying to erase the memory of their painful loss to Chelsea in the 2021 final.
A three-time winner, Inter can boast the greater European pedigree, but City will enter the game as firm favorites against the side that finished third in Serie A this season.
However, Guardiola insists that what happened in the past – and even its current form – is of little consequence now.
Pep Guardiola insisted it was nothing more than a precaution after Walker missed a training session
Walker has already won two titles this season – the Premier League and the FA Cup – and is in the hunt for a Treble
He said, ‘It’s really good to travel to Istanbul in a few days. We go together and it’s a dream to be here.
“Two years ago we were there, but in different situations with Covid.
“We’re going to do our best and we know the final is how you behave in that particular 95 minutes, not history.
“They are better than us for history, but what matters is what you have to do to be better than the opponent in 95 minutes.
“It doesn’t count what you did in the group stage or the Premier League or the FA Cup. We have to be better than them.’
Guardiola feels comfortable with the label favourites.
“We’re used to it,” he said. ‘Why would it be more dangerous? Accept the role and go out knowing the quality of the opponents. We accept what people say, no problem.’
City will face Inter in the final of the showpiece Istanbul after the Italian side defeated arch-enemy AC Milan in the semi-finals
City’s form in the latter part of the season, as they swept Arsenal to win the Premier League and passed Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to reach this weekend’s showpiece, has been outstanding.
Guardiola acknowledges there is a lot of confidence in City’s squad but insists there will be no complacency.
He said: ‘It’s a final against a top team and we have to do it. We are confident, I am so optimistic, but at the same time I cannot deny the quality of the opponent.
“I’ve never done that and certainly not in the final of the Champions League.”
