Vincent Kompany injury: Manuel Pellegrini admits defender may not return for Manchester City until end of the season

The City boss has revealed that his captain will remain out for longer than originally anticipated

Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany hobbles off after succumbing to a calf injury against Sunderland (Getty Images)

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that his injured captain Vincent Kompany may not rejoin the first team until “the last part of the season” after he suffered a further setback in his recovery from a calf problem.

The 29-year-old Belgian returned after seven weeks out as a second half substitute against Sunderland on Boxing Day, but lasted just nine minutes before succumbing to the recurring muscle problem that has troubled his season.

Kompany was originally expected to miss a further month, but his manager now believes it could be the final stages of the campaign before he is back in defence.

City are also currently without another centre-back in Eliaquim Mangala, who limped out of the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Everton last week with a thigh strain.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League meeting with the Toffees, Pellegrini said: “Mangala will return soon, but Vincent maybe not so soon. For the last part of the season, he could be fit.

“It’s difficult because Vincent is doing a lot of different things to try to understand and find the reasons why he has so many injuries.”

However, the City boss does not believe he will have to delve into the transfer market this January in order to cover his fitness concerns in defence.

“We have a complete squad at this moment. We have (Martin) Demichelis, we have (Nicolas) Otamendi, we have Bacary Sagna, who can play in a central position. We also have Cameron (Humphreys), who is a young player who played in pre-season with the squad.”

City are unbeaten in the eight Premier League matches that Kompany has started this season, winning six and keeping seven clean sheets in the process. Without their captain’s involvement, Pellegrini’s side have been beaten seven times.