Kompany’s comeback is now dependent on a blood test
VINCENT KOMPANY could be just a blood test away from making a shock return in the Mancunian derby.
The Manchester City captain has been out of action since limping off against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final defeat in Madrid in early May.
The 30-year-old had thigh surgery in the summer in an attempt to end a catalogue of injury woes stretching back over three years.
The muscle problem that has caused him to break down so many times appears to be on the mend but Pep Guardiola will not risk him in the top-of-the-table clash at Old Trafford unless he gets a clean bill of health.
The Spaniard said: “Every day he is much better but still the blood tests are not perfect. Until the blood tests are perfect, he is not going to play for us.
“He is going again for tests. When the signals decrease and the tests show there is no longer a problem, then okay.
“Vincent had something in his muscle that was not right.
“What is important is the doctor told me now his muscle is clean. He can train now, he will be part of the group and we will decide if he is able to play or not.
“He has trained on some things with us. But in terms of being competitive, in terms of the games and contacts and duels, he won’t play until he is ready.”
The Belgian was sidelined with related leg injuries five times last season, and was forced to miss Euro 2016.
It was a problem that perplexed Guardiola’s predecessor Manuel Pellegrini to the point that the Chilean admitted in May that Kompany’s City future was in doubt.
Guardiola is confident his medical staff have now got to the bottom of the problem, and can see light at the end of the tunnel for the popular central defender.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach added: “You have to avoid a situation that when he starts, he gets injured again.
“Okay, you have to accept if it’s because of football but not for the reasons that have happened in the last three years.
“He has missed a lot of games. It’s important for us because he is good.”
That comes as welcome reassurance for Kompany, after reports that his history of injuries – now totalling a whopping 33 in eight seasons at City – had cast doubts on whether Guardiola would want to retain him.
Guardiola has also praised Kompany for his determination to prove his doubters wrong and bounce back to fitness and his best form.
“I am surprised by how much he is a fighter. He is working morning and afternoon,” said Guardiola.
“He is a big professional, so in that sense I don’t panic.
“But he is still not in full training.”