Roberto Mancini wants Kevin de Bruyne to be fit to face his Italy side in Friday's Euro 2020 quarter final.
Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne is facing a race against time to make the Belgium squad to take on Italy in Munich after suffering an ankle injury in the last 16 win over Portugal.
De Bruyne hasn't trained since, but has travelled with the Belgium squad to Germany and his manager Roberto Martinez didn't rule out a late inclusion in the side if his no.7 recovers in time.
And it seems that is something that former City boss Mancini would welcome, despite Italy clearly facing an easier task if De Bruyne was absent.
Speaking ahead of the game, Mancini was asked about De Bruyne and fellow injury doubt Eden Hazard — and admitted he would prefer to see the dangerous pair playing rather than sitting in the stands.
"Fixtures such as these are nice because of the top players involved," Mancini said.
"Belgium are a brilliant team and we are performing well, and for the spectators it would be great to see them at full strength. Hazard and De Bruyne would cause us more problems because of that, but that’s what is great about football.
"It's always nice for the fans to see all the best players on the pitch; that's what makes football special. We face the best team in Europe along with France, maybe the best in the world. They are on top of the ranking, but we'll try to win.
"I respect Belgium, but we'll need to play as we know, we are aware of our qualities. Belgium are preparing for an important game and the same goes for us."
There may be split loyalties among City fans for the most interesting last-eight clash, with some hoping De Bruyne progresses, and others enjoying a trip down memory lane as they remember Mancini's class from his time at the Etihad.
