Manchester City rock Matija Nastasic will miss start of season so Joleon Lescott STAYS
Manchester City rock Matija Nastasic will miss start of season so Joleon Lescott STAYS
Ligament damage picked up in friendly against Sunderland
means Manuel Pellegrini has lost first-choice partner to Vincent
Kompany...
Another tourist ambushed by strength of Hong Kong ale? No, it's Matija Nastasic
Chris McGrath
Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic is out for three weeks and
will miss the start of the new Premier League season, writes David
McDonnell in Hong Kong.
Nastasic suffered ankle ligament damage during City’s 1-0 Barclays Asia Trophy win over Sunderland in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Although
Nastasic will have an MRI scan in Manchester today, City’s medical
staff believe the injury is sufficiently serious to sideline him for
three weeks.
The loss of Nastasic, one half of City’s first-choice central defensive partnership with skipper Vincent Kompany, is a major blow to the club.
And
the enforced loss of the 20-year-old, who was a revelation last season
in his debut campaign, will see City step up their efforts to sign a new
defender.
Real Madrid defender Pepe was on City’s radar, although their interest in the £20m-rated Portuguese international would now appear to have cooled.
City
have also been looking at Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopolous,
although boss Manuel Pellegrini remained tight-lipped on any potential
moves. Tight-lipped: Manuel Pellegrini of Manchester City looks before the Barclays Asia Trophy Final
Victor Fraile
“It doesn’t depend on just one thing,” said Pellegrini when asked about buying a defender.
“I
said the other day that we could do something else before the Premier
League season starts, but maybe we’ll stay with the same squad.
“At the moment we aren’t that concerned about that, but I’m very happy with the squad we have.
“The doctor has to see [Nastasic] when we arrive in Manchester and then we’ll know.
“We are concerned but I think it’s better to wait. He got a kick on his ankle and we will talk with the doctor.” SO KON PO, HONG KONG - JULY 23: Joleon Lescott of Mancester
City signs autographs after a Mancester City Barclays Asia Trophy
training session at Hong Kong Stadium on July 23, 2013 in So Kon Po,
Hong Kong. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images for FA Premier
League)
Robert Cianflone
The injury to Nastasic means Joleon Lescott, whose future at City was uncertain, will now stay put and partner Kompany in defence at the start of the season.
Pellegrini
refused to blame the sodden pitch, which Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio
had branded a “killer”, for Nastasic’s injury.
“I don’t think it was the pitch,” said Pellegrini. “It was part of the game and could have happened on any pitch.”
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