Africa Cup of Nations Comes at Wrong Time for Yaya Toure and Manchester City

There is never a good time to lose Yaya Toure, but this year’s AFCON tournament in Equatorial Guinea, which the midfielder has been selected for by the Ivory Coast, has come at a particularly bad time for club side Manchester City.

He played his last game for what could be a month last weekend against Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the FA Cup and will now miss some important fixtures in City’s bid to move above leaders Chelsea in the Premier League.

The Ivory Coast’s final group game is set for January 28, meaning he will definitely miss City’s trip to Everton and the subsequent home match with Arsenal.

However, given their position as one of the pre-tournament favourites, it’s likely Toure’s involvement will stretch beyond the group phase. Therefore, the midfielder is doubtful for City’s match against Middlesborough in the fourth round of the FA Cup and their all-important game with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on January 31—a top-of-the-table match with far-reaching importance in terms of the title race.

The AFCON final will be played on February 8. Should the Ivory Coast make it that far, Toure would also miss City’s game with Hull City at home on February 7, but he would be back in contention for the tough trip to Stoke on February 11.

In total, he could miss five matches.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

It’s poorly timed from City’s perspective because of the importance of the games he is set to miss. The Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea run of fixtures looks set to be particularly critical. It's also poorly timed because he has recently found some outstanding form after a difficult start to the season.

The death of his young brother toward the end of last season was followed by a summer of discontent. Talk of a move away, probably to a cash-rich side such as Paris Saint-Germain, was seemingly everywhere, and Toure—along with his agent, Dimitry Seluk—fanned the flames with some needless comments to the press.

It was poorly handled and caused City disruption, beginning just a week after being crowned champions of England for the second time in three seasons. Rather than celebrating and looking to build on their success, the club were mired in a will-he-won’t-he scenario.

It affected Toure, too. Until mid-November, he was playing terribly, a shadow of the player who had arguably been the most important member of the City squad that delivered two trophies in Manuel Pellegrini’s first year in charge.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Soon after, the tide suddenly turned.

The November international break offered an opportunity to refocus, and Toure came back his dominant best.

His display in the win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, where he bossed the midfield and dictated play with his passing game alongside Fernandinho, was the final confirmation after some green shoots of recovery that the old Toure was well and truly back.

He’s scored six in his last nine and continues to dominate his midfield battle. He is going to be a huge loss, particularly in the game against Chelsea. It’s a fixture likely to be determined by the slightest advantage, and having the world’s most dominant midfielder in your team can certainly offer a side a winning edge.

However, the way in which they have handled Sergio Aguero’s absence—winning four and drawing one of the five league games he has missed—will surely give them confidence they can handle Toure being away on international duty.

The likes of Fernandinho, Fernando and Frank Lampard will be expected to carry a heavier burden than usual, but they are capable. If City can continue the form they have showed in recent weeks, where they have wiped out an eight-point Chelsea lead and moved into the Champions League knock-out phase, and welcome back Toure having continued their 13-game unbeaten run, they will really start to believe back-to-back titles is a possibility.

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 firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.