Former Man City player Pablo Mari back in training two months after being stabbed in Italy

Former Manchester City player Pablo Mari has returned to training with his loan club Monza two months after being stabbed in an Italian supermarket.

The 29-year-old defender was taken to hospital after he was stabbed in October. One person died in the incident in Milan, while Mari was told he was 'lucky' to avoid life-threatening injuries.

He had surgery to reconstruct two injured muscles in his back - with the treatment forcing the player out of action for two months. However, the Arsenal man, who is on loan with Monza for the season, has since returned to training.

The Spaniard has since claimed that he is taking things 'step by step' after getting back out on the grass - posting a number of pictures on Twitter. The defender tweeted: "Back with the team. Step by step."

After the incident occurred in October, Mari posted a message on Instagram, thanking people for their support.

"After the hard moment we experienced yesterday, both my family and I want to communicate that fortunately we are all fine despite the circumstances, and we want to thank all the messages of support and affection that we are receiving," he said.

"In addition, we want to send our condolences and all our strength to the family and friends of the deceased person, and we sincerely wish that all injured people recover as soon as possible."

Mari signed for City in 2016 but was quickly loaned to Girona. In the following two seasons, he played for Dutch side NAC Breda and Spanish outfit Deportivo de La Coruna. The centre-back officially left the Blues in 2019 having not made a competitive appearance for the club.