Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany will be out for up to eight weeks with a calf injury, according to Belgium boss Marc Wilmots.
The commanding centre-half was substituted early on in his side’s goalless draw with Dynamo Kiev in the Champion League on Tuesday, and after further tests, he has subsequently been left out of Belgium’s squad for their friendly against Portugal on March 29.
While Wilmots has revealed the rough estimate on the timeline for his recovery, City boss Manuel Pellegrini has suggested that his captain will return before the end of the season.
Regardless of the timeframe for recovery, it is certainly another concerning setback for Kompany, the club and his country.
Pellegrini has revealed that it is the other calf where the injury has been sustained as opposed to the troublesome calf that has forced Kompany to sit on the sidelines in recent months.
Although that is a relief to an extent, the 29-year-old’s on-going issues are a problem given his importance to the side and their inability to continue to have a lack of clarity over how long he will be available for before injury strikes.
With Pep Guardiola coming in at the Etihad in the summer, the Spanish tactician will have had ample time to assess the current City squad and identify where he needs to strengthen.
The heart of his defence will likely be among his priorities, and he will need to be convinced that he can build around Kompany who remains the club’s best defender by some distance.
If he is unable to feel assured and comfortable that the Belgian will lead his side out on a regular basis moving forward, then perhaps rumours linking City with the likes of Aymeric Laporte, as noted by The Guardian, could strengthen in the months ahead.