Pep Guardiola says he knows 'how important Phil Foden is for Man City' - as manager promises to give England star 'minutes' as he eases him back from illness

Pep Guardiola has insisted he knows 'how important Phil Foden is for Manchester City ' and vowed to give the midfielder 'minutes' as he looks to ease him back from a spell on the sidelines through illness.

The England international has started just one match this season - a 2-1 win over Watford in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday - after being struck down by a mystery illness.

The 24-year-old had been described as unwell after winning the PFA Player of the Year award on August 20 and Guardiola previously claimed the midfielder had been in 'discomfort' after City's win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend.

After being deployed as a false nine against Watford ahead of Jack Grealish , Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes and James McAtee, his manager gave him an impromptu personal training session on the pitch after the match, making elaborate hand movements as he listened intently.

Now Guardiola has stressed the significance of the role Foden plays in his side as they get ready for a Champions League clash with Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

'The thing is he is playing, but Phil doesn't need time,' he said. 'When he's clever and fine, it's not a problem.

'I know how important Phil is for us, so there's no doubt about that.

'It doesn't matter if he starts or comes from the bench. With this amount of games, he will have his minutes, that's for sure.'

Foden made an impact from the bench against Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday, testing Nick Pope before setting up Bernardo Silva to force an even better save as the visitors pushed for a late winner.

The game was City's first in the league since Rodri's anterior cruciate ligament injury, which will cost them the services of the key midfielder for the remainder of the campaign.

Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis and later Silva attempted to plug the gap left by the Spain international, while the returning Ilkay Gundogan got more valuable minutes under his belt.

Guardiola admitted the 33-year-old German, who had seven years at City before spending last season with Barcelona, is not quite back to his best.

He said: 'It will take time. He didn't have a pre-season and he needs to get into the rhythm. He gives you something special, but he will take time.'

With Kevin de Bruyne remaining on the sidelines and goal machine Erling Haaland going off over the weekend with a knock to his ankle, Guardiola faces mounting injury problems which are threatening to bubble over into a full-blown crisis.

The Spaniard remained typically sanguine about the growing list of those unavailable.

He said: 'During seven, eight years, we have handled it, nine years, I would say - this is my ninth season here. Always it's been like that, so it's the same, no change.

'We have a problem this season with long, long injuries, especially with Oscar (Bobb), with Rodri for a long, long time and that is completely different to the past, but the schedules are the same.'