Manchester City handed Nasri fitness boost ahead of derby

Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2014 by Goal.com

The midfielder has been out for a month after undergoing surgery on a groin injury and is now in line to make a return against Newcastle in the League Cup before Sunday's clash

Samir Nasri has recovered from a groin injury to face Newcastle United ahead of Manchester City's derby clash with Manchester United, manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed.

The midfielder has been out of action for over a month after undergoing surgery but stepped up his rehabilition and is in contention to feature in Wednesday's Capital One Cup fourth-round game.

Frank Lampard, who has not featured since the 4-1 win over Tottenham, remains sidelined and is the only casualty in an otherwise fully fit squad as Man City look to reach the quarter-final stage.

"[Samir] Nasri is working normally and is in the squad list for tomorrow," Pellegrini told reporters.

"[Frank] Lampard is out, all the other players in the squad are fit. I don’t think Frank will be fit for the weekend but maybe he can be fit for next week."

The news will come as a huge boost ahead of Sunday's visit of rivals Man Utd, while Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao are also expected to return after overcoming niggling fitness concerns.

Despite stressing the importance of succeeding in the League Cup, Pellegrini conceded he was likely to rotate his squad for the visit of Newcastle, who lost 2-0 to City in their opening match of the season.

"It is very important for the club to win trophies," he added. "That is why it doesn't matter in which competition we are playing, we are trying to win all four competitions in the same way.

"I transmit the mentality to the players that every game you play is one you must try to win. If you ask me if I prefer to win the Premier League, maybe, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to win the Capital One Cup which is why we are involving the whole squad in this game.

"It is very important when you play so many games to have the whole squad ready to play, so we will probably make some changes."