Mancini hoping Kompany can shake off knee injury to face Chelsea

Nov 23, 2012 2:20:00 PM

The skipper was hurt in a clash with Cristiano Ronaldo during the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday, but his boss is refusing to rule him out of Sunday's game

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is sweating on the fitness of captain Vincent Kompany ahead of the trip to face title rivals Chelsea on Sunday after he picked a knee injury in midweek.

The Belgium international was hurt in the 1-1 Champions League draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday after a tussle with Cristiano Ronaldo during the latter stages of the game, and recieved treatment after the final whistle before leaving the Etihad Stadium on crutches.

Kompany will be assessed on Saturday before a decision is made over whether he can play, but Mancini is remaining optimisitic that he will be able to lead the Premier League leaders out at at Stamford Bridge in a crunch top of the table clash.

“I hope Vinnie can recover but we won’t know until tomorrow,” the Italian told the club's official website. “He is strong so there is a chance, but we will make a final decision on Saturday. Mario trained on Thursday so should be OK but Gael is still injured.”

Left-back Gael Clichy will not be travelling to west London after failing to shake off an ankle injury, but there was better news for Mancini after striker Mario Balotelli returned to training after sitting out the last two games with a back injury.

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