Pep Guardiola said he saw something in Phil Foden off the bench against Newcastle that he did not against Watford as the Manchester City midfielder tries to get his season started.

Foden was outstanding last year, winning thee three biggest individual prizes in England for his efforts in propelling City above Arsenal and Liverpool to a fourth consecutive Premier League title. However, after a disappointing European Championship with England where he struggled to influence games he has not got started again under Guardiola.

As well as missing a few games through illness, Foden has largely been used from the bench when he has been available with the league cup game against Watford his only start. In the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, Guardiola has preferred veteran Ilkay Gundogan.

De Bruyne is still missing with the thigh injury that forced him off against Inter a fortnight ago and Guardiola is unsure if he will return before the next international break. City fans do not know if Foden will be given a chance on Tuesday against Slovan Bratislava in the Belgian’s absence, but his manager is happy with the direction he is going in.

“As much as he feels good he will be back,” said Guardiola. “The 30 minutes he played at St James Park I felt already something that I liked that I didn’t see against Watford.

“We cannot forget after the Euros had been two months without training with a few niggles and some problems. Now he is smiling a bit and a bit in his rhythm. We cannot forget we have done without him but he is an important player for us and I don’t have any doubts the way he love to play football he will be back and he will help us like he has since he landed in Man City.”