Guardiola: Nasri yet to play in pre-season because of weight

Nasri was not in the France squad for the European Championship so returned to pre-season training at City having not played since May. (Jon Super/AP)

SHENZHEN, China — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says midfielder Samir Nasri hasn’t featured yet in the pre-season friendlies because he is overweight.

Nasri was not in the France squad for the European Championship so returned to pre-season training at City having not played since May.

Guardiola says "Samir arrived a little bit overweight … but he’s much, much better now."

City’s new manager hopes the 29-year-old Nasri will have lost the excess weight in two weeks.

Speaking after City beat Borussia Dortmund on penalties in a friendly on Thursday, Guardiola said there’s "still a little bit of weight. And last season he was overweight and he was injured all the season. We want to avoid that."

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