Pellegrini backs City to cope without Toure

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is confident his side can overcome the absence of midfield driving force Yaya Toure.

City will be without the influential Toure for up to another four weeks due to his involvement in the African Nations Cup with Ivory Coast.

Toure was sorely missed during the tournaments of 2012 and 2013 and, although he has not been at his formidable best this season, his recent form has been good.

Following last week’s draw with Everton — the first match of Toure’s absence — City have actually not won in the Premier League without the former Barcelona player since last April.

Toure was rested when City were surprisingly held by Burnley on December 28 and also when they drew at Arsenal in September.

Pellegrini said: “Of course we are going to miss Yaya because he is a very important player — in the same way that we miss Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, David Silva, or all the players that for different reasons cannot play every week.

“But we have a squad and we have to replace Yaya. We must continue fighting for the title with or without Yaya. I don’t think our team depends just on one player.”

In terms of league action, Toure will definitely miss tomorrow’s return clash against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium and the January 31 trip to title rivals Chelsea.

City have coped without the 31-year-old before, most recently in the Champions League when he missed the vital wins over Bayern Munich and Roma in November and December through suspension.

Toure himself is confident City can come through the spell.

Speaking while on international duty, Toure told CNN: “I think City can compete without me. We have fantastic players and I think you’ve been able to see when we miss Aguero with injury, we’ve been able to cope without him.

“When we miss Kompany we’ve been able to cope. At the moment I think we’re in good shape.”

In the same interview, however, Toure did give further mixed messages about his future.

Toure sparked considerable speculation over his status at City during an unsettled last summer when he voiced criticisms of the club amid the notorious birthday cake saga.

He again cast doubt over his position when asked if he would still be at Eastlands next season.

“I don’t know. I’m at City at the moment,” he said, before laughing.

It is not the first time Toure has been vague on the subject but Pellegrini has no concerns about it.

The Chilean said: “I think Yaya is 100% committed with our team and with this team. I don’t have any doubts about that.”

When pressed further, Pellegrini acknowledged circumstances can change but presently has no doubts and insists there is no link to last year’s issues.

He said: “I don’t think any of us know what will happen in six months. But it’s not a problem. I repeat, Yaya is very happy here. His commitment is not a problem.”

Pellegrini reported a fully fit squad for tomorrow’s game but is unsure whether top scorer Sergio Aguero, who returned from a seven-game absence as a substitute at Everton last week, was ready to start.

The City boss said: “He is working with the squad every day so he doesn’t have any problems. We will see if he starts but he is 100% fit.”

Aguero will have a new strike partner next month after the club’s signing of Toure’s Ivory Coast team-mate Wilfried Bony from Swansea this week. Bony will move to City when his current international commitments end.

Bony is effectively a replacement for Alvaro Negredo, who left the club for Valencia last summer on a loan deal that is set to be made permanent.

Pellegrini said: “It was important to replace Alvaro Negredo. When we sold, we said we were going to have the decision in December after seeing these four months. We have too many injuries so it was important to have a fourth striker.”

Pellegrini says that means there is no chance of another forward, Stevan Jovetic, leaving City despite reports linking him with Juventus.

He said: “Stevan is a very important player for us. Bony is replacing Alvaro, not Jovetic.”

Pellegrini was reluctant to discuss the possibility of more signings before the closure of the transfer window but has not ruled out the possibility.

He said: “We are not thinking about that in this moment but I always said the transfer window is the end of January and we will see what happens in the future. But if you ask at this moment, I think we have the squad for the end of the season.”