Friday 21 November 2014 18:44, UK
Manchester City are set to welcome back Vincent Kompany for their Premier League clash against Swansea on Saturday.
The City captain has been sidelined by a calf injury since the disappointing Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow on November 5.
Kompany sat out the 2-2 draw with lowly QPR as well as Belgium's European Qualifier against Wales, but he returned to training this week and suffered no ill-effects from the injury.
The 28-year-old has been declared fit to reclaim his place in the centre of City's defence for the visit of in-form Swansea, who vaulted to fifth in the table with an impressive 2-1 win over Arsenal before the international break.
Boss Manuel Pellegrini did not tackle Kompany's availability directly in his Friday press conference but hinted he would be part of a strongest possible line-up even though City face Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday.
He said: "We are not thinking about Europe. We are thinking about the Premier League.
"We must try to discount the points we have behind the leaders. It is very important to try to win. After we finish the game against Swansea we are going to start thinking about Bayern Munich."
Kompany's return could come at the expense of Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala, although Pellegrini says the Frenchman is available after 'a small problem.'
But he was keen to defend the £32m summer signing from Porto, who is yet to make a mark at the Etihad after a drawn out move to the Premier League.
"Maybe Mangala, for different reasons - because he started (training with us) later, because he didn't make all the positions with us, because we work in a different way here - he is not in his best moment," the City boss added.
"But I am absolutely sure we bought the right player because I think he is a very good defender. He is a young defender with a lot of experience.
"If you remember, the criticism with (Martin) Demichelis was absolutely the same as the criticism of Mangala. Maybe they need more time to settle here in the Premier League but I am sure we will see the great defender we have."
