Roberto Mancini will have to do without Yaya and Kolo Toure for the FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Manchester United on Sunday after Ivory Coast boss Francois Zahoui rejected City’s request for them to stay in England until after the Manchester derby.
City are already without Gareth Barry for Sunday’s game after he was sent off during City’s 3-0 win against Liverpool in which the Toure brothers were pivotal in overcoming the visitors last Tuesday.
After that game Mancini singled out Yaya Toure for praise and said there wasn’t another player like him in the City squad and that they would miss him during their crucial January.
City may also miss Owen Hargreaves, who isn’t deemed fit enough to start, and also perhaps Mario Balotelli who missed the last two games because of an ankle injury.
In fact. Mancini will have only Nigel de Jong and James Milner as fully fit and available central midfielders for the FA Cup game – a tie which Sir Alex Ferguson will be itching to win not least because United suffered a rare second defeat in a row up in Newcastle where they were beaten 3-0 by Alan Pardew’s side..
Mancini has already been linked with Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi recently but explained that he has to sell before he can buy to satisfy FIFA financial fair play rules.