Gareth Taylor expects Vivianne Miedema to return to action for Manchester City in January following knee surgery.

The 28-year-old has not featured for City since their Champions League win over Barcelona on October 9, undergoing surgery later that month.

Miedema, who joined City after leaving Arsenal at the end of last season, made just five appearances in all competitions this term, scoring two goals.

However, she is not expected to be on the pitch again before the Women's Super League winter break, even as Taylor confirmed she was stepping up her recovery.

"Viv is back on the pitch, which is great," Taylor said. "The reality is we won't see her in these next three games before we break.

"But we're looking forward to getting her back in early January for when we restart, which is a big boost for everyone."

City have already qualified for the knockout stages after winning all four of their Champions League games so far and have the chance to clinch top spot in their group if they beat St. Polten on Thursday and Barcelona do not win.

They have also won nine of their last 10 matches in the Champions League (L1) and have not lost at home in the competition since September 2018 (0-2 v Atletico Madrid). They have scored two or more goals in each of their four matches in the competition this season.

They edged to a 3-2 win over St. Polten in the reverse fixture in October thanks to an 80th-minute Mary Fowler goal, and Taylor is determined to get another important result against the Austrian side to boost their chances of gaining top spot.

"When you looked at the nature of the group, we knew we were in there with some good teams and one very good team, who’ve been at the top for a very long time," he said.

"We were under no illusions that we had work to do, but we'll very much take it – as boring as it sounds – on a game-by-game basis.

"Before you know it, we're four games in, top in the league, which may have surprised a few people, but for us now, it's continuing in these final two games.

"First objective is achieved; second objective is can we finish top of the group."