Nathan Ake ‘much better’ ahead of Everton game after missing Real Madrid clash

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has made progress in his recovery from an injury that ruled him out of the first leg of their Champions League game against Real Madrid.

The Netherlands international suffered a hamstring injury in City’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the quarter-final.

Ake missed the 6-0 win over Sheffield United in the FA Cup and Premier League games against Arsenal and Fulham.

However, he returned and scored in City’s 3-0 win over West Ham United.

He started against Leeds United but went off in the second half and missed the Madrid match.

City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed is progressing but will wait to see whether the versatile defender can play on Sunday against Everton.

Guardiola said (via Man City’s official website): “I think he is much better, but I don’t know.

“Today, we finally had a day off. Now we have training in a few hours, and we will see.”

Ake has been instrumental for Guardiola this season, playing his inverted full-back role impressively. He has played 42 games for the Cityzens this term.

The centre-back is perfect for the role with his defensive nous and tendency to push forward.

Man City are still in the running for a historic treble late into the season.

However, Guardiola said his focus is purely on the next game.

Guardiola added: “My thought is just Everton, no more than that.

“It’s eleven months working for the Premier League. I don’t want to be distracted by Real Madrid.

“We don’t have much time because we play Sunday. It’s a real, real priority the game at Goodison Park.”