John Stones and Kyle Walker raise hopes of surprise Man City return for Premier League final day

John Stones and Kyle Walker raised Manchester City hopes of a surprise return for the Aston Villa game after training with the squad on Thursday.

Pep Guardiola had ruled the pair, along with fellow defender Ruben Dias, out for the rest of the season following injuries picked up in the final stretch of the season. Stones has not played since the first leg of City's Champions League tie with Real Madrid, and Walker since the second leg.

With three of seven senior defenders unavailable as well as Nathan Ake being not fit to start, Guardiola has seen his side ship three goals in their last two games as central midfielder Fernandinho partnered Aymeric Laporte - including two at West Ham where the Blues dropped two points to add to the excitement of the Premier League title race. Fernandinho and Laporte both picked up injuries at Wolves but played through the pain at West Ham.

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Walker had not ruled himself out of playing in the final game of the season even if his manager had publicly, and the return to training for him and Stones increases the prospect that Guardiola could have more players to call on for the final match, where three points against Aston Villa will guarantee a fourth title in five years.

City's manager will be asked about the pair in his pre-match press conference on Friday, although it is unlikely that any final decision will be made on the pair until closer to Sunday afternoon. Ruben Dias was not spotted in the session.

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