Man City defender Aymeric Laporte drops fitness hint ahead of West Ham fixture

Centre-back Aymeric Laporte has hinted that he could be available for Manchester City's trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

The Spain international, who has scored four Premier League goals this season, was forced off just past the hour mark during Wednesday evening's 5-1 win over Wolves at Molineux. It was a worrying sight for manager Pep Guardiola and City's supporters as fellow centre-backs John Stones and Ruben Dias have already been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Laporte was replaced by Dutchman Nathan Ake, who was already nursing an injury complaint of his own. The Dutchman was struggling with an ankle problem but managed to get through the remaining 30 minutes.

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City also lost Fernandinho to injury at Wolves. The Brazilian, because of Stones' and Dias' unavailability, was filling in at centre-back, meaning his early exit added more pain to Guardiola's headache.

Issuing an update on Laporte and Fernandinho on Friday, Guardiola said: "They are in treatment. It's two days. I think until the day of the game we will not be able to decide exactly the availability of the players.

"I have said many times we have to handle it. For one or two games the players will do their best, even not playing their position.

"Sometimes when you play in another position the concentration is higher. Like we saw against Wolves they can do it."

Despite Guardiola's assessment not offering too much hope of Laporte featuring in the capital, the Frenchman has shared a cryptic hint on his Instagram page that he could play some part. He shared an image of him in training, potentially suggesting that he is gearing up to be involved.

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