Manchester City Will Continue to Miss Vincent Kompany Due to Injury

Vincent Kompany, Manchester City's talismanic captain, is out with a groin injury, that much is true.

That the Blues miss their Belgian skipper is also undeniable. How long he will be absent for is open to question at the moment.

The Daily Mail picked up the words from the man himself to City's official website last week, where he said: "I’ll be out for a little while but not too long. I may miss the internationals but I hope to be back after that."

The headline for Adam Crafton's piece in the Mail interpreted that and the rest of his words as "City boosted after Kompany claims he will be back for Champions League and Manchester derby".

But just ahead of the game against Hull, the Independent reported that Manuel Pellegrini said his captain's return in less than a month "was impossible." The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Either way, he's already been missed, and there are some significant season milestones looming in the next few weeks that Pellegrini would like to see the 27-year-old back in the fold for if possible.

Two different defensive combinations have started for City since Kompany limped off in the 4-0 win over Newcastle United. Javi Garcia looked every inch a midfielder shunted back into defence for the 3-2 defeat at Cardiff, but there was a marked improvement for the next match.

Matija Nastasic replaced Garcia after overcoming an ankle injury to partner Joleon Lescott for the 2-0 win over Hull, but it wasn't plain sailing, and had Sone Aluko rolled the ball in rather than wide early on having eluded Lescott, Kompany's absence would have been an even hotter topic.

There is previous form here; Kompany's two-month absence through injury earlier this year saw City's deficit go from four points behind Manchester United to a whopping 15-point margin behind the eventual title winners. 

Nastasic and Lescott both prefer the left-hand side of a central pairing, compared to Kompany's right-footedness, an imbalance that clever attackers may target.

Manuel Pellegrini can at least opt for new signing Martin Demichelis, but as good as the 32-year-old is, he will have to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League straight away as margins are as wafer-thin as ever. In City's favour is the fact that Pellegrini knows all about the Argentine defender from their time together at River Plate and Malaga.

The sight of Kompany and keeper Joe Hart marshaling the back-line will probably instill more confidence, but if it is indeed another month before he's back, Kompany will miss Stoke away, the home derby and Aston Villa away, as well as a tricky-ish trip to Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League.

In theory City have the depth of squad capable of coping with their captain's absence, but that horror show at Cardiff is fresh in the memory.

How much of a miss is Captain Kompany? What's your preferred defensive option for City? Leave your comments, get involved in our social media channels or let me know on Twitter @Tim Oscroft.