Mark Hughes will be playing the waiting game over City’s walking wounded ahead of the home game against Sunderland this Sunday.
Thursday night’s dramatic UEFA Cup win in Denmark saw Mark Hughes counting the cost of a game that went all the way to a draining penalty shoot-out, and the list includes players that were forced to come off and some that went the distance.
The Manager said, “We’re hoping that the concerns we had last night will allay somewhat. Vincent was struggling somewhat towards the end of the game and we had to take him off.
“Wayne Bridge had to come off with a tight hamstring, and we are hopeful that will not be too serious because we missed him when he went out of the game.
“Stevie Ireland has a really bad ankle after one of their players fell on top of him. He went over on it and we will have to see how he is. They are all key players for us and we would like them to be available this weekend but it’s a short turnover time so we could be missing a few.”
Vincent Kompany’s long-standing toe injury is still a worry, as the Manager added:
“He’s got big holes in the boot and tape wrapped around it to take the pressure off it. We want to reduce the pain levels he has had, he’s also had injections and that’s what happened on Thursday.”
But there is better news on two strikers who were not with the squad in Denmark, while Nigel de Jong, ineligible for the UEFA Cup, has shaken off an infection.
“We will check on Craig as well, he was back here and training well while we were in Denmark. He has had a little bit of discomfort, so we want to be careful but he may well be an option.
“Valeri Bojinov had 75 minutes in the reserves and came through that well, so he is an option at the weekend. Nigel de Jong had a virus and missed a couple of days, but he should be OK,” Mark concludes.
