Manchester City assistant manager David Platt has insisted that his club have the quality to cope in the absence of midfielder Yaya Toure.
Toure will miss up to a month of Premier League action after being selected to play for the Ivory Coast during the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, while Platt has admitted that losing the 29-year-old is a blow, he is adamant that City will continue to challenge at the top of the Premier League table.
Platt told reporters: "I'm not too sure how many games he is gone for but it's something we have known about and will have to deal with. We lost him last year and won the league but the kind of player he is, it would be more beneficial to have him.
"We will get on with it. It's like an injury - you want the full complement to choose from.
"We have a dressing room full of quality players and we have to cope with it."
Toure's brother and Manchester City teammate, Kolo, has also been called up by the Ivory Coast.
Darren Plant
