Pep Guardiola to give Man City stars an extended break before Premier League

Manchester City will allow a host of their stars extra time off as they gear up for a new season that is set to be more demanding than ever.

Pep Guardiola likes to give his players as much time off as they can have, knowing the busy schedule of the games but also the intensity with which they are expected to operate in when they are at the Etihad. With that in mind, and with more players at the European Championship (14) than any other team, as well as Julian Alvarez involved with Argentina, City's international stars are being offered more than the standard three weeks of rest before returning.

Those players who were knocked out in the quarter-finals or semi-finals of the Euros - Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Manu Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Bernardo Silva - will be allowed to miss the whole pre-season tour of the United States. Instead, they will be asked to return to Manchester on August 5 ahead of the Community Shield at the end of that week.

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Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, and John Stones will all have had three weeks off by then but there will be talks at the City Football Academy in the coming days to decide whether to offer them extra time as well. With an expanded Champions League competition guaranteeing at least two extra games and a revamped Club World Cup tagged onto the end of the season that will further drain the players, City know they will have to be more cautious about managing the fitness of their squad than they have ever been.

Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol are set to be the only senior players involved at the Euros who will