Nasri injury blow as City host Gunners
LONDON: Manchester City’s Samir Nasri will miss tomorrow’s game against former club Arsenal after being ruled out for up to a month with a calf injury, manager Manuel Pellegrini said yesterday.
The France playmaker is also likely to sit out their crucial clash with Premier League leaders Chelsea on January 31, but there was better news on the injury front for City fans with captain Vincent Kompany and striker Sergio Aguero declared fit.
“Unfortunately, Samir Nasri has a calf injury so he will not be fit. I think he will be out for around three weeks to a month,” Pellegrini said.
“Vincent Kompany is 100 percent fit. We have some doubts about Edin Dzeko. We will see the squad list (today).”
The Chilean coach was again pressed on the future of Yaya Toure, who is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, after the midfielder refused to confirm he would be at the club next season in an interview with CNN.
Pellegrini, however, seemed unconcerned. “I think Yaya is 100 percent committed with our team and with this team. I don’t have any doubts about that,” he said.
City’s title challenge suffered a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton last Saturday which left them two points behind Chelsea.
Having drawn two of their last three league games, City need a victory to stay on the coat-tails of José Mourinho’s side, who could extend their lead to five points with victory over Swansea City today.
“It’s a very important game,” Pellegrini said. “Arsenal are not at the top of the table at the moment but they always have high targets. Both teams play very attractive football so I hope we are going to see a good match.”
City reinforced their attacking options this week with a £28-million (about R491-million) deal for striker Wilfried Bony, but will not be able to call on his services until he returns from the Nations Cup with Ivory Coast.
Pellegrini stressed that the arrival of the powerhouse forward does not spell the end of the road for Stevan Jovetic at the Etihad Stadium.
“Bony is replacing Alvaro (Negredo), not Jovetic. Stevan is a very important player for us,” he said.
“We sold Alvaro because he had personal problems and did not want to continue here.”
Meanwhile, leaders Chelsea are not planning on doing business during this month’s transfer window, manager José Mourinho said yesterday.
Mourinho’s men have topped the table for most of the season but having let a six-point lead slip to two in recent weeks with Manchester City hot on their tails, British media speculated Chelsea could bolster their defence.
The Portuguese, though, said he was happy with his squad and had no plans to buy defensive reinforcements despite his back four being carved apart in a 5-3 defeat at local rivals Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago.
“I’m happy with the squad, it is not a big group but a good group,” Mourinho said ahead of his team’s visit to Swansea City. “I’ll be happy if nobody leaves or nobody comes, but the market is open so you never know.”