Pellegrini confident injured trio will be ready for cup final

Sport360 staff 10:38 27/02/2016
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  • Hopeful for Sunday: Pellegrini.

    Manuel Pellegrini expects Wilfried Bony, Jesus Navas and Eliaquim Mangala to be a part of Manchester City’s League Cup final squad after the trio trained on Friday ahead of Sunday’s clash with Liverpool.

    Striker Bony and central defender Mangala, an unused substitute in the Champions League on Wednesday, have not featured since early January due to respective calf and hamstring injuries, while Navas has missed the previous four games with a hamstring strain of his own.

    “Bony, Mangala and Navas are training with the squad so the three of them are available for the game,” said Pellegrini.

    However, captain Vincent Kompany, ex-Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling and full-back Bacary Sagna, who has been troubled by a knee problem, did not work with the rest of the group at City’s training ground after initially being present for Pellegrini’s address to the squad.

    The Chilean explained that the three players were all doing separate recovery work having each played 90 minutes on Wednesday when City recorded a 3-1 win in Kiev in the Champions League.

    “They are recovering from the last game that they played,” Pellegrini added. “For different reasons, the recovery of the players that played the complete game is not the same for all of them. They have different ways of recovering but I hope the three of them will be fit for Sunday.”

    Liverpool, meanwhile, have Adam Lallana, Joe Allen and Martin Skrtel all available once again.

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