Vincent Kompany feels Manchester City will be able to cope if striker Sergio Aguero is ruled out for an extended period by injury.
Argentina international Aguero was stretchered off within 15 minutes of the English Premier League holders’ season opener against Southampton on Sunday and has been undergoing scans to assess the extent of the damage.
Nevertheless, Kompany believes the availability of Carlos Tevez, who missed five months of last season in self-imposed exile, can compensate for the potential loss of Aguero.
Tevez netted in City’s 3-2 win over promoted Southampton at Etihad Stadium.
“We lost Sergio, which was sort of a blow, but I just go back to when we lost Carlos for most of (last) season and coped well with that,” he said.
“I hope Sergio won’t be out for that long but I would point to last season where we had to cope with these kind of issues and we did it very well. If we have to, I’m sure we will again.
“I don’t want to speculate too much about Sergio because I don’t know if he is going to be out for any length of time, but having Carlos at his best level is obviously a big bonus for us. He is one of the best strikers in the world.
“People talk about new signings, but to have Carlos back to his best means we are better than we were last season, so we have strengthened.”
Jack Rodwell, who signed for City from Everton earlier this month, conceded possession to cost City a goal in his debut on Sunday, but Kompany is confident the young midfielder will quickly prove his quality in a sky blue shirt.
“Jack has settled in very well,” he said.
“I’m sure he’ll be an asset to our team and I think this game was the right time to bring him in with Liverpool coming up next week.”
