Injured Hart ruled out for 10 days with hamstring
Manchester City will be without Joe Hart for Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton.
The England goalkeeper was substituted during the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 Champions League loss at Juventus with a hamstring problem.
Speaking at a pre-match news conference, manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed that he expects Hart to be out for around 10 days, which would also rule the 28-year-old out of next Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final against Hull City and the subsequent Premier League trip to Stoke City.
“Joe Hart has a muscle injury,” Pellegrini said. “You never know how he will improve but I think it will be maybe 10 days.
“Fortunately it is not a very serious injury but it is important for him to recover well over the next week.”
City are looking to recover well from back-to-back defeats, having been humiliated in a 4-1 home loss to Liverpool last weekend.
Pellegrini’s side were beaten by the same scoreline the last time that goalkeeping understudy Willy Caballero filled in for Hart at Tottenham in September, but the manager retains full faith in a goalkeeper he coached during his time at Malaga.
“I never complain about players that are injured,” he said. “I trust a lot in Willy Caballero, I’m sure he will do a good performance in these games.
“Richard Wright will be on the bench.”
There is better news in terms of attacking options for Pellegrini, with influential playmaker David Silva back from a lengthy period on the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Striker Wilfried Bony is also back in contention following a hamstring problem of his own.
“Wilfried Bony and David Silva are back on the squad list,” Pellegrini added.
“David gives us a different way of playing. He is the player with the most accurate passes in the final third.”
Defenders Vincent Kompany (calf), Pablo Zabaleta (knee) and Eliaquim Mangala (knock) are still unavailable, along with long-term absentee Samir Nasri (hamstring).
