Manchester City’s Wilfried Bony confirms he had malaria in the summer

Bony admits to difficult times since signing in January
Ivory Coast forward scored twice in 5-1 win against Bournemouth

Posted Sunday, October 18, 2015 by theguardian.com

Manchester City’s Wilfried Bony confirms he had malaria in the summer
Wilfried Bony scored twice in Manchester City’s 5-1 win against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony has confirmed that he did contract malaria in the summer.

Bony was unable to travel on City’s pre-season tour of Australia and Vietnam because of the disease. City did not reveal the full reason for Bony’s absence at the time, other than to say the Ivory Coast international was ill.

However, after the manager, Manuel Pellegrini, mentioned it in a press conference this week as he spoke about Bony’s various injury and illness problems, the 26-year-old has spoken about his condition.

He said: “I got malaria from Africa when I was coming back but I am OK now. I feel I have turned the corner. I have had a lot of injuries and been sick, and feel that is all away from me now.”

Bony was speaking after scoring twice in the Premier League leaders’ 5-1 win over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium. It was a welcome return to form for the forward who has struggled to make an impact since his £25m move from Swansea in January.

''I just want to do my job, do my best in training and score when I get my chance in the match. Every striker is happy when he scores, especially when the team wins.”