Manchester City fullback Benjamin Mendy is on the brink of a full-scale training return.

The France left-back has been out since last September after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage against Crystal Palace.

An Etihad source told The Sun: “Benjamin is close to coming back. It's happened a lot quicker than we thought.

“He is still working on his flexibility and stretching the joint and we are still treading carefully.

“He has made excellent progress in recent weeks. He will try to get up to speed with the rest of his team-mates during lighter sessions."