Man City are hopeful Micah Richards and Michael Johnson will both be fit to play Chelsea.
Richards and Johnson struggling
Manchester City are hopeful stars Micah Richards and Michael Johnson will both be fit for the weekend's clash with Chelsea.
City face The Blues at Eastlands but are sweating on the fitness of both Richards and Johnson.
Richards has a shoulder injury which he picked up during City's 3-0 win at Sunderland and manager Mark Hughes is hoping the prospect of facing Chelsea will help the defender.
"A bit of adrenalin can get you through, but the size of this game is a big attraction and there's a huge number of guys here that do not want to miss out," Hughes told the club's
official website.
"Micah's had the shoulder looked at, he has had treatment and we will look at it again nearer the day - but we are hopeful.
"He will be a little sore for a while, he has damaged the cup of the shoulder but if the pain is manageable then he will be able to take part."
Johnson is also a concern and Hughes added: "Michael has a bit of discomfort and we will take a look at him towards the end of the week.
"He's a bit tight in his hips, which may come from his back but hopefully we can loosen him up a bit.
"I know about the groin problems he had last year, but this seems to be coming more from his back.
"We'll get to the bottom of it, he's been fine all pre-season but unfortunately it flared up against Sunderland."
One player unlikely to feature is Martin Petrov - who has a knee injury.
"Unfortunately the likelihood is that Martin will miss out. Chelsea is probably a week too soon for him but we are hopeful that he will be back for Portsmouth," added Hughes.
