Vincent Kompany came through Belgium’s final training session on Monday and is set to play against Israel in their last Euro 2016 qualifier, with Manchester City now in close contact with the coach, Marc Wilmots, and his medical staff.
Wilmots had previously stated there had been no communication with City regarding Kompany and his ability to feature for Belgium on Tuesday evening in Brussels. The 29-year-old has missed the club’s last five matches, having limped out of the 2-1 loss to Juventus on 15 September with a calf injury.
This is the 10th separate calf problem Kompany has suffered in three and a half years. Given the concern at the club that the captain should be allowed the best chance of a careful recovery, City’s manager, Manuel Pellegrini, had insisted Kompany could not represent Belgium during the international break.
Although Kompany did not feature in Saturday’s victory over Andorra, Wilmots insisted the defender could do so against Israel despite the match being a dead rubber as Belgium have qualified for the Euro 2016 finals in France. Wilmots said that there had been no contact with City regarding Kompany but it is understood the club’s medical department is now in communication with the Belgian FA.
If the centre-half does play on Tuesday night Pellegrini will hope Kompany does not aggravate the calf or suffer another problem, as David Silva and Sergio Agüero are ruled out due to injuries suffered when representing Spain and Argentina in the past week.
Silva injured an ankle against Luxembourg and is now in a race to be fit for the Manchester derby on 25 October. Agüero has stated the hamstring injury he suffered in the match against Ecuador means he is ruled out for a month.
Pellegrini’s team are about to embark on a run of seven games in three weeks that could be pivotal to their campaign. City play Sevilla home and away in the Champions League, Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup, and Bournemouth, Norwich City, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the Premier League, before the next international break in early November.
