Sigh of relief from City as Kompany returns

VINCENT KOMPANY has handed Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini a boost by returning from injury to be named in the squad to face Viktoria Plzen tonight.

Kompany, pictured, hobbled off in City’s opening fixture against Newcastle and, although he didn’t feature in Saturday’s goalless draw at Stoke, Pellegrini said his captain would return for next weekend’s Manchester derby.

However, with Pellegrini currently fielding a makeshift backline, including defensive midfielder Javi Garcia, Kompany’s early return will be a welcome boost ahead of their opening Champions League match.

City travel to the Czech Republic to embark on a third Champions League campaign, hoping to make it a third time lucky to qualify from the group stage.

Under Roberto Mancini, City failed to reach the knockout stages in two successive years, being drawn in groups with the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Napoli. After the Stoke clash, England midfielder James Milner admitted he is disappointed with City’s start to the season, yet earmarked tonight’s Plzen match as one to kickstart their European campaign. “We’d like to have a few more points. In the first game, we played really well, setting our standards high, and since then we haven’t quite hit those, for whatever reason,” said Milner.

“Now the first game in Champions League is important and then there’s the derby next week, so it’s a big few weeks for us.” – Daily Mail