Vincent Kompany returns to action for Manchester City on Wednesday night, with Manuel Pellegrini predicting an end to his injury torment after a safety-first approach to his latest recovery.
The skipper`s current thigh problem has kept him out of action since the beginning of October, but Pellergrini revealed yesterday that it cleared up a fortnight ago.
The City manager did not want to rush the Captains return and untill he was sure he was 100%,
“Can he stay fit now? Yes, he can, because he is 100 per cent right,’ said Pellegrini. ‘He was injured against Everton eight weeks ago, but we decided to wait a little longer this time to bring him back into the team.”
‘On previous occasions, he was saying he was absolutely sure that he was 100 per cent, but maybe he wasn’t, because the problem happened again. This time, we gave him two weeks more, to be sure he would be ok.
He is one of the best defenders I have worked with. He is a complete centre-back in all senses. He is so good in one-on-ones and with his heading, and he has a lot of speed, so he is the complete defender.
‘He is on the squad list and will travel to West Brom, and, of course, we need him. It is not just his ability as a defender but as captain. That is very important, also. The whole team needs the captain. It is an important role.
The team is happy with the return of the captain, and normally Vincent will go into the starting 11.
But I don’t think this team depends on one player. All the last games we won without Vincent, while we lost to Aston Villa with him in the side. We have other defenders who are doing very well – or very bad sometimes. We have a squad, but the return of Vincent is very important.’
Pellegrini has challenged his players to try and claim top place by the turn of the year, and he acknowledged it will need a marked improvement on their away form.
‘This is a very important week, with two away games before we face Arsenal at home,’ he said.
‘I hope we can be the same team on our travels as we are at home, because that can make such a difference. West Brom are very strong, so we need to be at our best.’
Written by Steve Milne – leave me your thoughts below 🙂
