International breaks can be a rather demanding affair for the top clubs, and that is exactly what seems to be haunting Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, ahead of his teama s clash against Bournemouth, on Saturday.
City are set to miss the key trio of forward Sergio Aguero, midfielder David Silva and fullback Aleksandar Kolarov in the Barclays Premier League, this season.
While Silva and Kolarov are set to be out of action for a couple of weeks, Agueroa s injury seems to be more severe, as Pellegrini confirmed that City would have to do without the services of the Argentinian striker for around a month.
a Sergio has a muscle injury a ita s an important injury so I dona t think he will be back before one month,a said Pellegrini, on Manchester Citya s official website, before confirming that Silva and Kolarov would also be absent due to ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively.
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Aguero has been an important cog in the City machinery, scoring six goals from eight appearances, this season. However, Pellegrini does have a good squad at his disposal and will have the option of calling-up former Swansea striker Wilfried Bony to the starting XI.
a I always trust Wilfried a hea s a very good player. Hea s had very bad luck here. he arrived here in January, he went to the African Cup and then he had problems with his knee,a explained Pellegrini. a Last season he couldna t demonstrate what he can do but now he has the responsibility.a
Citya s Chilean boss is also set to miss midfielder Fabian Delph (hamstring) and defender Gael Clichy (ankle), in the Bournemouth clash, which paves the way for Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna to take the two fullback positions.
There is some good news for City however, as captain Vincent Kompany, who has been struggling with injuries over the past few weeks, has been cleared to play this weekend. Pellegrini has expressed is dissatisfaction with Belgium national team manager Marc Wilmots, who decided to ignore the report filed by the City doctors, that Kompany should not play.
a If a player withdraws from a national team squad, h cannot play for his club team in the next game,a said Pellegrini. a Vincent didna t play in our last three games a its not my duty to do it but some day clubs will protest that as it should be the same thing the other way.a
However, in spite of the central defender being cleared to play this weekend, Pellegrini is unlikely to start with his captain, as he wants to ease the Belgian back into the heart of the defence.
Another good news for City would be the return of midfielders Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Fernando. Although the latter was having niggles in his knee, he is expected to start alongside Ivorian Toure, with Kevin De Bruyne taking over from Silva in the creative role behind Bony. It would indeed be interesting to see how the Belgian playmaker fares in this role.
Possible Line-up: (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Zabaleta; Fernandinho, Toure; Navas, De Bruyne, Sterling; Bony