With Ruben Dias also returning to action last weekend, the boss says he is delighted to have two crucial players available again with so many huge games coming up.
“Stones came back to the team and that is incredible news for us,” said Pep at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference ahead of our Champions League clash at Paris Saint-Germain.
“We could not train. We need our rhythm, but we have only one or two subs.
“I couldn’t demand anything, or they would be injured. We could not define what we were in the past.
“That why we were not in our best. Ruben is back, John is back, and people up front they are coming back, too.
“For that, game by game let’s see what happens.”
The City boss admitted the new Champions League format was still something of a learning curve for many clubs.
He also pinpointed the 3-3 draw with Feyenoord as a ‘turning point’ in this season’s European campaign.
“We have to reflect afterwards. We will see what happens but at the end when you play against Inter Milan, Juventus, PSG, strong teams it can happen,” he said.
“After that, unfortunately against Inter we were good but could not win. After the game against Feyenoord was the turning point.
“When we played against Sporting, they were top of the league in Portugal, winning almost all their games in the Champions League. PSG as well, I saw their games in Paris.
“The games they played were unbelievable against Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven, they did everything to win the game, but they could not do it.
“In football, it sometimes happens. When we finish we can reflect, it’s a good experience for the future, that many things can happen because in the group stages all the teams are involved, but this situation is different.
“It’s new for everyone. It’s a really important game for both teams tomorrow but we have another game in a few days at home. We will see.”
Play the video to watch Pep’s press conference in full...