Vincent Kompany could play for Belgium against Israel on Tuesday in a move that risks angering Manchester City and deepening the injury problems the club has sustained during the international break, after Sergio Agüero and David Silva were ruled out representing Argentina and Spain in the past week.
Kompany is nursing a calf problem that has caused him to miss City’s last five matches. The captain has not featured since limping out of the 2-1 loss to Juventus at the Etihad Stadium on 15 September. Despite the injury he was selected for Belgium’s squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel.
If Kompany was to aggravate the injury his availability for City would be in jeopardy for a run of seven games in three weeks that could be pivotal to their campaign. Manuel Pellegrini’s side play Sevilla home and away in the Champions League, Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup, and Bournemouth, Norwich City, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the Premier League, before the next international break in early November.
Silva injured an ankle against Luxembourg and is now in a race to be fit for the Manchester derby on 25 October. Agüero has stated the hamstring tear he suffered in the match against Ecuador means he is ruled out for a month, which would mean he will miss City’s next seven games.
There is also concern regarding Aleksandar Kolarov after he limped out of Serbia’s defeat to Portugal on Sunday. If the left-back is unable to recover in time for Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth then City will be without a recognised first-team player in the position as Gaël Clichy is also currently injured.
This is Kompany’s 10th separate calf injury in three-and a-half years and there is particular concern at the club that the 29-year-old should receive the best care whenever he suffers a recurrence.
While Kompany did not feature in the victory over Andorra on Saturday, of his potential participation on Tuesday night, Marc Wilmots, the Belgium manager, said: “I think he’s good right now. We will decide together if he can play, but I think it will be alright. I don’t see any problem if he feels OK. He’s been working with the rest of the squad since Friday, and that’s good for Manchester City but good for Belgium. There’s one more practice before the match – Vincent has to prove he’s OK to play, then I have a choice to make.”
Despite Pellegrini’s reservations that Kompany would not be fit to feature in either qualifier for Belgium, Wilmots admitted he has not consulted the Manchester City manager, or the club’s medical department. “There’s been no contact with Manchester City. They know anyway all about the team here and what I do with Belgium. I select the players, and from the beginning this player said the second game will be alright.”
If Kompany does feature against Israel it could anger City, especially as Belgium have now qualified for the finals next summer in France. Pellegrini said: “If the national team call him, he must go. But he cannot play so I don’t think he will play. In the same way that when you don’t play for your national team you cannot play after for your club, it must be the same in the other sense, if you cannot play for your squad you cannot play for your national squad.
“I hope that he can return after the international break, I am not sure. I hope that after 15 days he will be able to play but the calf is a difficult muscle. We must see in the way he improves.”
City have previously voiced their disquiet at Wilmots’s selection of Kompany. In March 2013 Roberto Mancini, Pellegrini’s predecessor at City, criticised the coach for fielding Kompany against Macedonia after a 60-day absence due to a calf injury.
