Vincent Kompany is reportedly a major doubt for the Liverpool clash at Saturday lunchtime. According to the Daily Mail, Kompany did not report for training yesterday at the City Football Academy after picking up a knock whilst on international duty with Belgium.
The Belgian felt a problem in his calf during Belgium’s 9-0 victory over Gibraltar, as they comfortably qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Kompany was then rested for their next qualifier against Greece. This is his 15th calf problem in 5 years, resulting in him taking special measures to ensure that he doesn’t suffer further issues.
To counter the problem, he took to wearing matchday socks halfway down his calf, which would help ‘relieve some pressure’. He also changed his boot manufacturer.
Pep Guardiola is deeply aware of Kompany’s fitness issues and the amount of management that it needs, especially with a busy schedule of seven games to play in September before the next international break.
The Belgian will be assessed on Friday, but will most likely not be risked at this stage. His potential absence would leave Guardiola with only three senior centre-backs: John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala, who City wanted to sell on in the summer.
The Spaniard’s medical staff spent much of last season trying to find the source of Kompany’s issues and the Belgian has been told to inform them of any future discomfort. He managed to get his first run of consistent games for more than a year on the back end of last year in Guardiola’s first campaign for the Citizens, where he started three successive games at the back.
