Pep Guardiola Has a Big Decision to Make on Injury-Plagued Vincent Kompany

It took 23 minutes for Manchester City’s second leg with Dynamo Kiev to become complicated. This was supposed to be a straightforward affair, a simple case of finishing what they started in Ukraine three weeks ago. With City, nothing is simple.

Manuel Pellegrini lost Vincent Kompany inside eight minutes to his 14th calf injury in four years. Nicolas Otamendi, his centre-back partner, followed him on 23 minutes. Manchester United, City’s opponents on Sunday, were rubbing their hands in glee as the Blues’ best centre-back pairing by some distance were off the field in clear discomfort. Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala, both of whom have worrying deficiencies, came on as replacements.

Otamendi’s problem looks far less serious, a dead leg that some rest will solve. He has a chance to play in Sunday’s game, which is crucial in determining City's top-four hopes. Bacary Sagna is fit, although not in Tuesday’s matchday squad, and he can comfortably slot in at centre-back.

If Manuel Pellegrini doesn’t fancy pairing Demichelis and Mangala in a game of such magnitude, he may have options.

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PELLEGRINI: "Nicolas Otamendi has had a kick and hopefully can recover in the next couple of days." #mcfc

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) March 15, 2016"

Kompany’s problem, though, is far more significant and a much bigger headache for Pellegrini. The City captain has played just nine games in the last four months. Fourteen calf injuries in a four-year period is a damning record.

How much longer can City go on relying so heavily on a player who remains in a constant state of fragility? Of the club's 46 games this season, the Belgian has featured in 18.

He cost the club £6 million when he signed from Hamburg SV eight years ago. City have spent £90 million on centre-backs since then and look no nearer to becoming less reliant on his fitness. This season, they have conceded a goal every 156 minutes when he is on the pitch and every 70 minutes without him.

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

City have a fight on their hands to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, with West Ham United and Manchester United both in striking distance.

Improving their league form is vital, as are their attempts to continue in this season’s Champions League. A first-ever quarter-final awaits, and Friday’s draw could see them paired with Wolfsburg or Benfica, winnable ties for City. They have struggled in Europe in recent seasons, but they are now in the latter stages for the first time and have nothing to lose.

But they are likely to have to play for the remainder of the season without Kompany, their inspirational leader and finest defender. If his last two setbacks are anything to go by, a six- or seven-week absence appears very possible, indeed.

Afterwards, Pellegrini admitted he would be without the 29-year-old for "a minimum of one month."

"Vincent has again a muscle injury in his calf; the same problem he has had before," said Pellegrini. "It's very difficult to accept, but he has nothing else to do."

What will the incoming Pep Guardiola make of Kompany’s calves? He knows one of his most pressing issues will be to bring stability to City’s defensive line. That, of course, involves the whole team defending as a group, pressing high and hard to win back the ball and then keep possession. But the back four, so unstable for much of the campaign, needs work.

In an ideal world, Kompany is a player you would build your defence around, but his calf problems render him a liability, and Guardiola, who displays more than a strain of pragmatism in the way he manages his players, will be uncomfortable relying on him.

City’s 0-0 draw with Kiev ensured a safe, if unconvincing, passage to the quarter-finals for the first time. What should have been one of the most significant nights in the club’s history was overshadowed by Kompany’s injury and the somewhat sloppy performance that followed.

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We made history and passed to the quarter finals 🙌 now we go with hope and ambition to the next challenge #UCL pic.twitter.com/PkdmivAfOQ

— Fernando Reges (@Fernando_Reges) March 15, 2016"

To say City limped into the last eight would be unfair given their first-leg dominance and quality, but most expected better from the return game at the Etihad Stadium.

The performance, although disappointing, is the least of Pellegrini’s worries. The injuries to key men, in an area where they struggle to cope with adversity, is a much bigger concern going into Sunday’s Manchester derby.

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Job done tonight!! Into the @championsleague quarter finals! 👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/MpkHYdBB2R

— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) March 16, 2016"

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.