Belgian center back and Manchester City’s captain Vincent Kompany is reportedly ruled out of the team for three weeks coz of his calf injury he sustained during fourth round of FA cup at the Stoke City. Looking at the EPL leaderboard tally, next few weeks could be crucial for City looking at its coming Liverpool’s clash on Sunday, especially considering Manchester United’s possible win on Saturday which could further enhance City’s distance from top positioned ManU. City manager Roberto Mancini informed about captain’s unavailability on Friday in a news conference, he said, “I hope that he can recover after the FA Cup,” he was referring the FA cup’s fourth round which is scheduled to begin on Feb 17 against Leeds United. At the moment, City is trailing United by just seven points and United has to play its twenty fifth match of the league on Sunday – one day before City’s clash with Liverpool. Moreover, Mancini also told about his team’s big chances to claim the trophy, he said, “In every championship, one team has never won a title in January. We should fight until April. If they have seven, eight, nine points in April, it could be difficult, maybe but in this moment we have a big chance. But I think that when we arrive at the end of February, the gap will be very, very small.”
Captain’s loss could also leave a psychological impact on other players since they are very close to lead the EPL tally. In Fact, City manager is very confident to reduce the margin to almost nil by the end of February. This is second striker loss for City after Balotelli who left last week to his native AC Milan. Moreover, post Balotelli era seems to be unlucky for City as it could not win against QPR in Tuesday as well retaining QPR undefeated in 2013. Despite the fact that Balotelli’s transfer has long been predicted, he was filling the gap for the time being. But now, City is eyeing Liverpool striker Luis Suarez during next summer transfer window at a whopping £40 million price tag.
Mancini also has high regards for the player whom he is going to meet face to face on Sunday. While praising Suarez, Mancini said, “For me, Suarez is a top player. I like him as he is strong, he works. He’s one of the best in England,” he would surely like to see him wearing sky blue city short next season!