Manchester City are now hopeful that Kyle Walker will be available to face Arsenal on Sunday, despite pulling out of international duty with an injury.

England confirmed earlier this week that Kyle Walker had pulled out of the March international break with an injury, returning to Manchester City for further assessment.

Walker had come off in the 20th minute of England’s game against Brazil clutching his hamstring, after asking his teammates to stop play. He walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution.

Yet it seems the problem has turned out to be nothing. Sky Sports News report that the hamstring problem isn’t thought to be too serious, and City are hopeful the defender will be available to face Arsenal this weekend.

At the weekend, Gareth Southgate admitted they didn’t know how serious the injury is.

“We don’t know (the severity),” Southgate said. “He’s not had many injuries, so he himself isn’t sure whether it’s just tightness.

“I suspect if he’s feeling it, it’s a little bit more than that but we’ll know a bit more over the next 24, 36 hours.”

In the end, it seems the initial assessment of tightness was correct.

Walker has made 38 appearances for City this season, and it’s clear he would be one of their starters if fit.

If Walker is available to face Arsenal, the only City injury doubt would be Ederson, but Pep Guardiola previously told the media he’s hoping the goalkeeper will be back too.

It looks like Kevin De Bruyne will also be available, and reports of an injury to Erling Haaland turned out to be incorrect.