Injuries plague City ahead of Europa tie

Manchester City face Aris Salonika for a place in the Europa League last 16 without a full squad for the clash.

City secured a 0-0 draw against Aris in Greece a week ago, but have just 16 players available for the home leg because of an ever-lengthening injury list.

The latest player to be ruled out is goalkeeper Shay Given, who could miss the rest of the season with a shoulder problem.

And manager Roberto Mancini admits his squad are struggling to cope with such a high number of games.

“The injury situation is not good this morning,” Mancini groaned.

“James Milner is not available for tomorrow, Micah Richards is not available. And I think we have 16 players available but Mario Balotelli is OK.”

“This is a problem. We play every three days but we don’t have the players – they’re all injured. Micah played three days ago and then trained on Tuesday but now he’s injured. He has a calf problem.”

Speculation linking captain and top scorer Carlos Tevez with a move away from the club has continued this week with Brazilian side Corinthians now understood to be interested.

But Mancini refused to talk about the striker’s future.

“I am happy for Carlos scoring 50 goals for Man City,” he said. “I hope he can continue to score. But it’s impossible to know what will happen in the future and I hope he can continue to play here.

“In this moment I am worried only about the game, the league and the FA Cup.At the moment Carlos is here, playing and scoring for Manchester City.”

“He’s important for us but in the squad there are 22, 23 players and they are all important.”

After a 0-0 draw in Greece, any win will do for Manchester City.

But midfielder Gareth Barry has warned the side that Aris will arrive with nothing to prove.

“It’s good to know that if we win the game, we qualify,” Barry said.

“But their players will know there is not a lot of pressure on them. They are coming here to enjoy the game. It’s always an easier task for them but our job is to focus on ourselves and win the game.”