Soccer

Vincent Kompany set to return for Man City after Belgium appearance

‘I feel great and I am glad I got to do it. I needed to be part of this’

Belgium’s Vincent Kompany celebrates after winning against Israel during their final Euro 2016 group B qualifyier. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters
Belgium’s Vincent Kompany celebrates after winning against Israel during their final Euro 2016 group B qualifyier. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters
Wed Oct 14 2015 - 10:33

Vincent Kompany seems set to return to action for Manchester City this weekend after playing close to an hour for Belgium on Tuesday.

The influential City captain has missed his club's last five games with a calf injury and was also declared unfit for international action by his club manager Manuel Pellegrini.

But that did not stop him being called up and, after sitting out Saturday’s game in Andorra, the 29-year-old was deemed ready for action in his country’s final Euro 2016 qualifier against Israel in Brussels.

He played 58 minutes without apparent setback as Belgium won 3-1 to secure top spot in Group B and a seeding for next summer’s finals in France.

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Kompany then delivered a positive update on his condition ahead of City’s Barclays Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Saturday.

He told Sky Sports News: “I feel great and I am glad I got to do it. I needed to be part of this. At the same time it’s going again now and I am just looking forward to the next games.

“I play for my country and I am proud to do it. There are no small games. I have given everything I have, always, for City. I will carry on doing this and I will do the same for my country.”

Kompany’s return, despite the previous reservations of Pellegrini, gives City some positive news after a difficult international break.

Sergio Aguero, who scored five against Newcastle on his last City appearance, could be out for a month after suffering a hamstring injury playing for Argentina while David Silva injured his ankle on Spain duty. Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov also took a knock while away with Serbia.

The full extent of their injuries will become clear after City have carried out assessments.

These latest problems add to a number of issues City already had with Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Fabian Delph and Gael Clichy having also been sidelined.

Meanwhile Uefa has charged England and Lithuania over crowd disturbances at the Euro 2016 qualifier in Vilnius on Monday.

Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Football Association and the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) over the trouble which broke out in a section of the crowd just before kick-off.

The LFF has also been charged over breaches of ticketing rules — it appeared some England fans without tickets gained access to sections reserved for home supporters — and for having blocked stairways.