Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany injury doubt for Manchester United derby showdown

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is unsure whether Vincent Kompany will be ready for Sunday's (25 October) derby meeting with Manchester United. The City skipper started the club's crucial Champions League tie with Sevilla on Wednesday 21 October on the bench, having also been a substitute in the previous weekend's 5-1 thrashing of Bournemouth.

The Belgium international came off the bench late into injury time at the Etihad Stadium, but when vice captain Yaya Toure attempted to hand the armband to him, he was waved away by Pellegrini.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Chilean coach was left unhappy with Belgium coach Marc Wilmots and his decision to play Kompany in the 13 October European Championship qualifier, despite missing City's previous five games with a calf problem. Pellegrini wanted his skipper to remain in Manchester to complete his recovery.

Speaking after the win over Sevilla, Pellegrini insisted there was no issue with his captain, but could not say for sure if he would return for the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.

"We have a lot of different things to think about for the next game," Pellegrini said, talkSPORT reported. "Vincent is just coming back from a long injury that kept him out for a month and it was probably a risk to give him the responsibility to play in this important game. Tomorrow we will start thinking about the derby and we will see the way the players recover.

City are already missing a handful of key players, with both Sergio Aguero and David Silva ruled out of the match after suffering injuries while on international duty. Fabian Delph and Gael Clichy are also unavailable, while there are now doubts over Samir Nasri's fitness. The former Arsenal schemer suffered a hamstring problem in the win over Bournemouth but remained on the pitch to see out the game.