Sergio Aguero is set to be fit for Manchester City's
crunch clash with title rivals Liverpool, but will miss Saturday's match with
Southampton.
The Argentina international striker has been absent for
the last four Premier League matches, after injuring his hamstring in the 2-1
UEFA Champions League defeat at Barcelona.
However, Aguero has returned to training this week and is
nearing a return to competitive action.
While Saturday's encounter with Southampton at the Etihad
Stadium will come too soon, manager Manuel Pellegrini is hopeful the
25-year-old can feature against Brendan Rodgers' men eight days later in a
fixture that will have a huge bearing on the destination of the Premier League
title.
"It is too soon for Sergio (against
Southampton)," said Pellegrini. "He has trained for only two days and
needs more time. Perhaps one week more and he will be prefect for the game
against Liverpool.
"We hope he will return and play an important role
in our remaining matches but this match has come too soon for him. He needs
more work to become 100 per cent fit but he will be fine for next
weekend."
Michah Richards does return to the squad against
Southampton following a knee injury, but fellow defender Matija Nastasic (also
knee) once more misses out.
Meanwhile, Pellegrini is expecting a tough test against
Mauricio Pochettino's side, despite the fact Southampton have little to play
for the remainder of the campaign.
He added: "Southampton are a very good team who are
playing without pressure who are very comfortable in the table.
"They cannot be relegated and they can't qualify for
Europe so they are playing with freedom and we are absolutely sure we will have
a hard game on Saturday."
Culled from Soccerway
0 comments:
Post a Comment