Samir Nasri enduring a troublesome year at Manchester City

Manchester City’s Samir Nasri has endured a year to forget.

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri recently revealed he will be out of action for a further three months after an injury setback, and it caps a year to forget for the Frenchman. Nasri had amassed just 238 minutes of Premier League for the Sky Blues this season, and hadn’t played since October’s 5-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. He’s in fact only made five league starts in 2015.

Spiralling level of performances

The 28-year-old has been short of form for City due to the lack of game time, scoring only three goals in his last 31 Premier League appearances, and his ongoing injury woes and inactivity could well see his time up at the Etihad Stadium. The former Arsenal player divides option among the supporters, but it can’t be argued that he wasn’t more effective for the Gunners than the Sky Blues.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini has subtly hinted that he may be thinking past the Frenchman as a key City player following the signings of Raheem Sterling from Liverpool and Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg, and when the transfer window comes around in the summer, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Nasri on the list. As one of the club’s high earners with a long-term deal, City are reportedly open to letting him go for the right price.

Stiff competition seeing him on the periphery

The experienced midfielder just hasn’t played a big role for the City team for some time now, and it’s hard to see why the Premier League giants even need him. His injury will keep him out well into the New Year, and he then faces a task to play himself into form to get back into the first-team. It also doesn’t bode well for Nasri when he’s better remembered for a change in hairstyle than grabbing the headlines in the last 12 months.

Nasri’s competition in the Manchester City side makes his job all the more harder to feature when he’s back to full fitness with the likes of David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Jesus Navas and Kevin De Bruyne all options in the attack. The 28-year-old has been on the periphery for some time, struggling with hamstring injuries, while making just two substitute appearances since September.

His career has spiralled in 2015, but he was upbeat on social media to convince the supporters that he will return even better than before in three months. He also posted a picture of himself on crutches, but sources are awaiting a club statement confirming his injury layout. Nasri’s troublesome year goes from bad to worse.