Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard has expressed his belief that the club will be boosted by the return of Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony.
The pair have been away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast, who won the competition after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Ghana in the final.
Bony has yet to feature for the club since signing from Swansea City in January, while Toure has not played since the FA Cup third-round win over Sheffield Wednesday, and Lampard says that he is pleased to see the duo return to club duty.
"He [Toure] is a massive player for the club," FourFourTwo quotes Lampard as saying. "I could see that from afar when I was at Chelsea.
"You want him back in and hopefully that will give us a boost as a squad. Of course you miss a player like Yaya with his talent and his ability, and we've had a time where we lost quite a few games.
"Alongside Yaya coming back, we've got Bony arriving. We've seen what he's been doing at Swansea and he'll be a fantastic signing for the club. There's an air of confidence about him and he'll add to the squad."
City host Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Steven Toplis
