Toure Fitness, AFCON Duty Raise Concerns for Man City Heading into New Year

Manuel Pellegrini confirmed on Wednesday that Yaya Toure will leave for the AFCON in Equatorial Guinea on January 5, meaning he is available for Manchester City’s next two matches, at home to Sunderland on New Year’s Day and the FA Cup tie with Sheffield Wednesday three days later.

He could miss up to a month depending on the Ivory Coast’s performance, with the final set for February 8 in Bata, leaving a hole in the City midfield in the meantime.

Toure’s form in recent weeks has been excellent, a huge improvement on his early-season displays, and he will be a huge loss while away on international duty.

Back to his influential best since the November international break, Toure has been a key figure in City’s recent run of nine wins in an 11-game unbeaten run, giving City’s midfield a much slicker look and, at the same time, answering his critics in emphatic style.

His understanding with Fernandinho, a vital facet in the club’s League Cup and Premier League triumphs last season, had evaporated early in the season, but both players have hit form at the same time and City look much stronger for it.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

However, a tweet the midfielder sent on Tuesday evening has caused confusion and reopened a debate about his tendency to attract negative attention.

During the summer, he made a series of comments which suggested he was unhappy at City and wanted away, and now he has undermined comments made by his manager in the aftermath of the 2-2 draw with Burnley.

Toure was omitted from the squad for the game, and when asked why the midfielder wasn’t involved, Pellegrini told reporters it was because he was nursing a slight groin injury.

But a tweet emerged on Tuesday evening from Toure’s official Twitter account claiming he, in fact, wasn’t injured but was instead rested.

"

Just a note to say the boss rested me for the Burnley game,I am not injured...!I really hope to be involved against Sunderland! #ComeOnCity!

— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) December 30, 2014"

Pellegrini attempted to clarify the situation on Wednesday, saying: “Yaya is okay. Just last game I think it was a risk for him, he was not 100 percent recovered, but he doesn’t have any other problems.”

It’s a somewhat strange and unwelcome distraction for City ahead of their game with Sunderland on New Year’s Day. After their second-half collapse against Burnley brought their winning run to an end, they will be desperate to return to winning ways against a Sunderland side they have struggled against during recent seasons.

“I think it will be a tough game again,” said Pellegrini.

“It is a team that normally we don’t have good results when we play against Sunderland. Finally this year we win and we hope we will do it also at home.

“Last year it was one of the postponed games and then we play after Liverpool, it was in a difficult moment, we just draw, but I hope this year we start the new year winning the three points.”

Meanwhile, Pellegrini confirmed that Scott Sinclair and Matija Nastasic could leave the club during the January transfer window, if the club receives acceptable offers, but he suggested City would be quiet in the window.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

“Two players [Sinclair and Nastasic] that are in this moment in our squad. We will see what happens with them in the future,” he said.

“It depends on a lot of things. They start the season for us, but if they have another option that is good for them and good for the club, we will see what will happen.

“I don’t think we are going to be too busy in this window. We have restrictions about the amount of money and about the number of players we can put in the Champions League so I don’t think it will be a special transfer window for our team.

“We have the option to do it, we will see in the whole month of January what we are going to do about that but it is not a major concern.”

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.