Pearce expects Cole back for Everton game
Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce expects star striker Andy Cole to be in contention to face Everton at Eastlands on Sunday.
The former England forward has missed City’s last three games since he suffered a slight hamstring strain during the Manchester derby earlier this month.
During that time, City have lost three games in a week, including a stunning Carling Cup exit at Doncaster, emphasising the 33-year-old’s importance to Pearce’s squad.
With Robbie Fowler and Bradley Wright-Phillips also absent, Pearce has been left with a chronic shortage of attacking options and the decision to ask Antoine Sibierski to provide support to lone front man Darius Vassell has not met with much tangible success.
However, Pearce revealed his belief that Cole will return to training later this week and could be ready to face David Moyes’ basement boys at the weekend.
“We are hoping to have Andy back this week,” Pearce told www.mcfc.co.uk
“He was really pushing himself, more so than the medical people, to play in the first game he missed.
“That was nowhere near a realistic target, which would have been to be fit in three weeks or so, which puts us to where we are now.
“The boy’s enthusiasm to play and not miss a game has really put him in the firing line.”
Wright-Phillips’ knee ligament injury will keep him out for another fortnight, while Fowler is due to visit a specialist to try to discover the extent of a back problem that has plagued him since he returned to training in the summer.
“It’s a case of seeing what the specialist says,” said Pearce.
“We thought he had got over it but all of a sudden he has had a setback.
“We want to resolve the problem once and for all.”
