Miedema in line for Man City return after knee injury

Vivianne Miedema could make her return to the Manchester City squad for their FA Cup fourth-round tie on Sunday after a three-month injury absence.

Miedema has been out of action since October 9 due to a knee injury that required surgery, keeping her out of action.

The Netherlands international, who left Arsenal as a free agent at the end of last season, has made just five appearances for City in all competitions, managing just two goals.

City play third-tier Ipswich Town in the FA Cup on Sunday, but Miedema’s return has come at a crucial time, with the Manchester derby next up for Gareth Taylor’s side in the Women’s Super League.

While Taylor does still have other injury issues at the top of the pitch, he is delighted to add Miedema, who is the all-time leading scorer in the WSL, back to his ranks.

“We have Viv back, which is a real positive,” Taylor said. “We’re not going to be able to go straight into it with her. We’re gonna have to build her back up.

“To have Viv back is fantastic because we know what a top player she is and what an influence she has on others. Just by being out there, she really helps other players perform even better.

“She’s just got that talent, and she gives so much time and space to other players, as well as being really quality in herself. It’s good to have her back.

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“Some other players will be slightly longer, maybe Bunny [Khadija Shaw] – obviously Lauren [Hemp] and Alex [Greenwood], as we’re aware of – but Bunny was with us last week [at the Abu Dhabi training camp], which was good.

“She was out training separately, but from what I saw, she looked really good, she feels really good, so we’ll see what that looks like for her.

“Whether we can get her back in this next period or not, we’ll see, but hopefully we can, because, again, similar to what we’re saying about Viv and Alex, they’re really influential players.”

Taylor also admitted that there was “nothing really to report” on Chloe Kelly’s contract situation, or a potential January move for the winger.

Kelly’s current deal is set to run out at the end of this season, and she has made just three starts for City in all competitions, struggling to nail down a place in the starting line-up.

Only one of those starts came in the WSL, in which she has played just 165 minutes in total and failed to register a goal involvement.

“Chloe was with us last week,” he added. “She looked really sharp. She looked fresh, [with] renewed energy and optimism for this period.

“But at this moment in time, there’s no news on any kind of deals at all, so while that happens, she’s our player, she’s a part of the team, a part of the squad.”