Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has suggested that he is not prepared to risk the fitness of midfielder Yaya Toure in his side's clash against Sunderland on New Year's Day.
The Ivorian was absent from City's match against Burnley on Sunday, which ended in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium after the Premier League champions relinquished a two-goal lead.
Toure suffered a groin problem during City's 3-1 triumph over West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day, while captain Vincent Kompany remains a fitness doubt.
"We will see [on Monday] if [Kompany] is fit for the next game," Pellegrini told reporters. "It is very difficult now to know. He has some problems still in his calf. Yaya Toure was not able to play. It was a risk for him. The players that played were the players who were able to.
"Yaya felt a problem at the beginning of the last game against West Bromwich. He was not 100% so I think it was not good for him to play. It is a muscle injury in his groin.
"We will see tomorrow. We hope that he will be because it was a lesser problem but after 48 hours [after the West Brom game] maybe it is too high a risk to repeat."
City are three points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, who also dropped points at the weekend following a 1-1 draw with Southampton.
Danielle Joynson
