MANCHESTER -- Manchester City will be without captain Vincent Kompany when they face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, but midfielder Frank Lampard is back in contention.
Kompany, 28, sustained a calf injury in the 2-1 Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, and while he does not face a long stint on the sidelines, manager Manuel Pellegrini suggested he might be a doubt for Belgium's upcoming internationals next week.
Meanwhile, Lampard, 36, has missed City's last five games after being stretchered off with a thigh injury in October's 4-1 win over Tottenham, but his return means David Silva is now their only injured midfielder.
Pellegrini said in a news conference: "Kolarov still has his muscle injury, David Silva has his ligament problem and Vincent Kompany has a calf problem. The three of them are out [to face QPR]. All the other players are in."
City are waiting to discover the full extent of Kompany's calf problem but Pellegrini says he is not too worried about the situation.
He added: "It is not so serious to be a long injury but I don't know if he will be ready for his national squad. Maybe not. In the next days we will know more about that and get the doctor's opinion. In this moment, it is difficult to say but it is not very important."
The Chilean conceded that City have missed Lampard, who was named their Player of the Month for September after he scored four goals.
He said: "You always miss when a player is injured, a player of the quality of Frank Lampard more [so]. He displays before his injury show that he is a complete player. He is 36 years old but he is very useful for our team. I hope he will return in the same way he was before the injury."
Pellegrini hopes City can close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea, who are six points ahead of his side, but he admits it will be tough.
He said: "It is very important because it is difficult to recover physically and mentally in less than 72 hours after what happened on Wednesday [losing to CSKA] but we are trying to do it. I hope the team that start will have the answer."