Kompany returns at last, but Man City suffer Delph blow
REUTERS - Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is fit for Sunday's Premier League visit of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, but midfielder Fabian Delph has been ruled out for six to seven weeks, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Friday.
Kompany, who has made just nine league appearances after battling a troublesome calf injury for a large part of the campaign, could return to the side for the first time since Dec. 26 as City bid to reignite their faltering title charge.
Pellegrini's men have slipped to fourth in the table with 13 games left, six points adrift of leaders Leicester City.
Left back Bacary Sagna is also ruled out and the manager's mounting injury list has given him an unwanted headache ahead of a congested run of fixture, with the team still fighting on four fronts.
"It's a long injury list -- Sagna, (Eliaquim) Mangala, Delph, (Samir) Nasri, (Jesus) Navas, (Kevin) De Bruyne and (Wilfried) Bony are out. David Silva is okay," Pellegrini told reporters.
"It's difficult with so many injuries in the same position. We must try to manage with the players we have.
"We'll see what the team is tomorrow. We're not just thinking about one player and one game, we're in a lot of competitions."
Alongside their pursuit of a third league title in five years, City face Liverpool in the League Cup final on Feb. 28 and Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round on Feb. 21.
They have also reached the knockout stages of the Champions League and Pellegrini is unhappy that they meet Dynamo Kiev just three days after the Chelsea game.
"I thought the correct day (for the Chelsea tie) was Saturday as we have to play Kiev on the Wednesday," he said.
"The FA must protect teams playing in Europe as everyone wants good results. I thought it was logical to play one day before."
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
