Roberto Mancini has revealed that Owen Hargreaves could play against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
It is said that the 30 year old could step in for Yaya Toure.
The Manchester City boss said : “Owen has worked with the team in the last two weeks without a problem,”.
“But it is clear that he is not Yaya at this moment. He needs to play and work. I hope he can be ready to play one game but it depends on him.”
Gareth Barry’s suspension from the FA Cup third-round tie between the two sides on Sunday, having been sent off in City’s 3-0 defeat of Liverpool on Tuesday, means Hargreaves will be promoted to the squad as a replacement defensive midfielder.
In the meantime he has been critical of the United medical staff, accusing them of putting his career on the line with a series of mistakes and “guinea pig” treatment that left him barely able to walk and with a knee that felt “like I was made out of glass”.Hopefully the canada drugs worked for him.
With Yaya Touré preparing for his final game before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, City need Hargreaves to show a greater ability to overcome his injury issues than has been evident in the first five months of his year-long contract.