Injury not serious, insists Kompany

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany insisted he is not suffering with a serious injury after he was forced off in the Champions League defeat to Juventus.

The Belgium international had to leave the field with 15 minutes remaining and the tie evenly poised at 1-1, with close-season signing Nicolas Otamendi making his debut by coming on to replace him.

Kompany, though, is not anticipating a spell out of the side, which backs up manager Manuel Pellegrini’s stated hopes from immediately after the match that his skipper would be able to face West Ham on Saturday.

The 29-year-old said after the match: “It was just a precaution. It is not serious, I know my body.”

Kompany also attempted to play down the impact of his team’s 2-1 loss to Juventus, praising their performance and comparing it favourably with their European showings from recent seasons.

He continued: “It was a very different game than in previous campaigns. There was actually nothing wrong with our performance. 

“In that respect I worry a lot less than in previous campaigns. There was no panic and we did not feel we did not know what to do.

“We played against a very good team – last year’s finalists – and they did very well. We are a little unhappy but we can take confidence to the next game.”

The West Ham game will give City the chance to make it six consecutive wins to kick off the 2015-16 Premier League season.