Repentant Manchester City striker
Carlos Tevez will have to play with the reserve team until he has returned to full fitness.
This is the stance taken by Roberto Mancini , after the 28-year-old Argentine striker completed just 45 minutes of a Reserve League Cup game earlier this week.
Tevez walked out of City after Mancini claimed the player had refused to warm-up when on the substitutes’ bench during a Champions League game at Bayern Munich.
However, after failing to find a new club in the January transfer window, despite interest from AC and Inter Milan and Paris St Germain, Tevez returned to the club and issued a full and frank apology to City and the club’s fans.
He is now trying to get back into shape after months of inaction, but Mancini insists the former City captain needs at least another two weeks before he can be considered for selection.
‘In these two weeks it is important he plays two or three games with the reserves. He needs to play on a big pitch,’ he said.
‘For him it is like pre-season, after three months it is not easy to play. At this moment he can’t play. Maybe in two weeks he could be ready.’
Even when fit, however, Tevez may struggle to force his way into a team that boasts Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli, and has scored the most goals of all the Premier League clubs this season.