Manchester City news: Pep Guardiola refuses to grant Vincent Kompany instant return from injury

The Belgian centre-half will not figure in Saturday’s Premier League encounter with Bournemouth

Vincent Kompany is back in training with Manchester City (Getty)

Pep Guardiola has told Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany he cannot expect an automatic return to the team following his recovery from summer surgery.

Kompany, 30, is close to a return to action after undergoing an operation on his groin and thigh following an injury sustained during the Champions League semi-final second-leg against Real Madrid at the beginning of May.

The Belgian centre-half will not figure in Saturday’s Premier League encounter with Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, but could be handed a chance to impress Guardiola during the League Cup tie against Swansea City next midweek.

However, despite Kompany’s status at the club, Guardiola insists it will not be difficult to keep him on the sidelines with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi making an impressive start to the campaign for City, who remain unbeaten this season.

"For me, when he (Kompany) is ready - how difficult (to leave him out)? Absolutely nothing,” Guardiola said. "They have to compete with each other and we'll see on the pitch what is the best for that game.

"This is the best way to arrive in April or May with a chance to fight to win the titles. We need the players competing with each other.

"They have to know if they don't play good, that there's another one beside him and the next time he is going to play.

"That's the only way to arrive at the end of the season, fighting.

Guardiola gestures to the fans at full-time on Wednesday (Getty)

“I need Vincent, because I know his quality. And I need him to put pressure on John Stones, Nico Otamendi, Kolarov - all of them.”

Guardiola has admitted to being cautious with Kompany’s return date, revealing last week that toxins in his blood are believed to be the root cause of his lengthy list of muscle injuries in recent seasons.

And after inheriting a squad that was plagued with muscular problems under Manuel Pellegrini, Guardiola admits he is determined to eradicate the recurring issue.

“That is our target,” Guardiola said. “The most expensive thing for the club is the one player who is injured.

“One player can cost £70m and a huge salary, but if he can play every three days, he is the cheapest player for the club.

“We try to emphasise on them the importance of resting properly. We work on regeneration. We have a lot of people on our staff just for that, to help the players to avoid becoming injured.

“That is going to happen. It’s impossible to avoid it completely, but until then, I am so happy, because we have had so few things.

“Gundogan was injured, Vincent was injured. Fabian Delph had problems, but the others, until now, have been good.

“All the places I’ve been a manager, all the physios and medical staff make absolutely everything. I tried to be a little bit more involved, a little bit more present, because I’m curious about what they do.”

Managers such as Jurgen Klopp and Louis van Gaal, at Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, found their squads ravaged by muscle injuries shortly after their arrival in the Premier League.

But after moving to City from the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, Guardiola insists that the German league is just as demanding, but the key difference in England is dealing with the volume of games and ensuring training does not become too intense.

“The Bundesliga is so demanding as well,” he said. “The difference is that there are fewer games.

“There are 18 clubs there, 20 here, and here we have one cup more, starting next Wednesday at Swansea.

“During the games in Germany, it is so demanding as well, so physical. They run a lot for 90 minutes, and all the strikers as much as the midfield players or defenders.

“I think here the difference is more games. I ask a lot, and everybody told me that there are a lot of games.

“We try to give the players as much protection as possible, by training with quality. We don’t look for the big impact.

“We try to spend our energy during the game, not in training.”