adminof Yaya Touré for up to six weeks due to African Cup of Nations duty.
Touré, plus his brother Kolo and Abdul Razak, a squad player, are all now missing from Mancini’s plans as they leave for a meeting with the Cote d’lvoire that was a surprise as the Italian manager thought they would depart after tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round visit of Watford.
Perhaps significantly for the destination of this season’s championship, United are one of only five clubs who will have no players absent when the remainder leave for the tournament, an exodus expected to start following the weekend’s FA Cup action.
If the participation of Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebyor for Togo is confirmed then a total of 18 players will take part in Afcon, of which City’s three-man contingent is the largest.
Alongside the Touré brothers, Newcastle United’s Cheick Tioté (also Cote d’lvoire), and Chelsea’s Mikel John Obi and Victor Moses (Nigeria) are the headline names who could be missing from club action until after February 10, should their nations reach the final in Johannesburg that day.
Of the absence of Yaya Touré, a pivotal member of Mancini’s side, City’s captain Vincent Kompany said: “He has played every game — that shows you how important he is for the team but that is something we will have to deal with. It is like having an injury, it happens. We believe we have enough players to step up and make the difference.”
For Mancini, there is frustration that Sabri Lamouchi, the Cote d’lvoire head coach, insisted on taking the trio before tomorrow. “We tried to keep them,” Mancini said. “We spoke with the manager and he said they can’t stay for this game — for three hours. It’s just a meeting.”
André Villas-Boas led Spurs to four wins in their last five matches and Adebayor is key to their 4-4-2 system, with the striker operating alongside Jermain Defoe.
“It’s a vulnerable situation, anything can happen,” Villas-Boas said. “It was always his choice, I’m not going to put pressure on him. We’ve left it to the player. If player wants to go, we respect the African Cup of Nations.”— The Guardian.
Online Reporter