Mancini waits on Kompany fitness

Roberto Mancini is sweating on the fitness of captain Vincent Kompany ahead of Sunday’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday.

The Belgium international was hurt in Manchester City’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday after a tussle with Cristiano Ronaldo during the latter stages of the game.

Kompany received treatment after the final whistle before leaving the Etihad Stadium on crutches.

He will be assessed on Saturday before a decision is made over whether he can play, but City manager Mancini is remaining optimistic that he will be able to lead the Premier League leaders out at Stamford Bridge in a crunch top of the table clash.

“I hope Vinnie can recover but we won’t know until tomorrow,” the Italian told the club’s official website.

“He is strong so there is a chance, but we will make a final decision on Saturday. Mario trained on Thursday so should be OK but Gael is still injured.”

Left-back Gael Clichy will not travel to west London after failing to shake off an ankle injury, but there was better news for Mancini after striker Mario Balotelli returned to training after sitting out the past two games with a back injury.