The defence terrorising trio all missed work with the main group today but are expected back in the fold in the morning.
That will be a boost to the manager who has had to rule Brazilian ace Robinho out of action for an extra ten days or so in order not to risk a repeat of the stress fracture that has kept him on the sidelines for the past month and a half.
“Robi is 10-14 days away because his stress fracture has not healed as anticipated,” Hughes told those attending his pre-Fulham press conference. Watch the full conference
“We want to err on the side of caution with him but he is ok. Of course he is frustrated that he cannot play but otherwise his mindset is fine.
“Any rumours linking him with a move away are a non-story. He will be back soon and I expect him to have a big part to play.
He had an exceptional season last season in a difficult campaign for the club. We are a better team now and I believe he will have an even greater more positive impact.
...Mark Hughes on Robinho
Skipper Kolo Toure is set to return against Fulham after missing the draw at Wigan while Vincent Kompany will continue his comeback after injury and be part of the squad.
“We are delighted Vincent is back and has tied up his future with us,” declared the manager.
“He has proved accomplished in a number of positions and he has a big future here as does Micah Richards.
“As I have said many times I don’t know where transfer rumours come from on occasions and we are in the process of building and creating a team and squad not dismantling one.”
Hughes, meanwhile, is hoping the Blues terrific home form will help them steal a march on top four rivals who are squaring up against each other this weekend.
“Liverpool are playing United and we will be looking at it this season with a renewed interest because you always hope teams in and around you stumble and drop points and that you can take advantage of that,” he observed.
In years gone by perhaps we have been looking at mid table teams but now we can say we are looking at the top sides.
...Mark Hughes
“I believe that the top teams will lose more points this season than they have ever done and that is not with the benefit of hindsight. I sensed in the summer that there would be a lot of strong teams this season – ourselves included.”
