Pep Guardiola does not believe Premier League champions Manchester City will be at full capacity until after the September international break.
City have begun their title defence in impressive fashion, following an opening 2-0 victory at Arsenal with a 6-1 thrashing of Huddersfield Town.
But they have also been hit by serious injury setbacks for Kevin De Bruyne (knee) and Claudio Bravo (Achilles) and, ahead of Saturday's trip to Wolves, Guardiola conceded the squad were still grappling with a quick turnaround following the 2018 World Cup.
"The problem for us is we are not far away but we are still not fit," he told a news conference.
"We see how much effort was spent by the players, normally the regeneration is quicker and they need more time because we didn't have a pre-season.
"Players still complain about muscular problems. That's why Claudio is out and Kevin and this week Fernandinho had a few problems with recovery after the win over Huddersfield but that is normal - we demand a lot.
"We are still not in the best condition, that's why we have to take points and hopefully after the international break we can be better and better."
One player to have hit the ground running is experienced playmaker David Silva, who crowned a dazzling display against Huddersfield with a sumptuously dispatched free-kick.
Final training session done Bring on Saturday! August 24, 2018
Silva was watched from the stands by his partner and baby son Mateo, having missed matches last season to be with his family after his child was born extremely prematurely last December.
"Firstly, he [Guardiola] has been amazing with me," the 32-year-old told Sky Sport, having made his 250th City appearance last time out.
"With everything that happened to me, he gave me a lot of freedom, so I'll always be grateful to him.
"Secondly, inside the pitch, he makes things easier for you. He sees everything before it actually happens and that, as a player, helps a lot.
"It was very special [having Mateo at the Huddersfield game]; the best moment of my life.
"When it all happened, I was only thinking about everything going well and I wished I could have him one day with me at the stadium, and it finally happened."
