Kompany, Sterling back for City’s trip to Newcastle
LONDON: Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and winger Raheem Sterling are back in the squad for Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Newcastle United, manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.
Kompany has not played since March 15 after suffering a recurrence of a calf injury he has been struggling with for most of the season, while a groin injury has kept Sterling out of action since March 20.
“Vincent will be an important help for the defence,” Pellegrini told reporters on Monday.
“Sterling is coming back from an important injury and we’ll see if he can play some minutes tomorrow. It depends on the way he returns.”
The manager, whose team climbed to third in the league table after beating Chelsea 3-0 on Saturday and are through to the semifinals of the Champions League, said he would be without playmaker David Silva, who has an ankle injury.
Silva, who has missed City’s last two league games, will be joined on the sidelines by Samir Nasri, who returned from a long-term injury this month only to pick up another knock against Chelsea. BENITEZ HOPES CITY
ARE DISTRACTED Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is hoping Manchester City’s players will be distracted by next week’s Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid when they face his relegation-threatened team on Tuesday.
“I think they have an eye on the Champions League and hopefully we can take advantage,” the Spaniard told reporters.