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Roberto Mancini is giving injured midfielder David Silva every chance of making Manchester City's starting line-up for Sunday's derby with Manchester United.
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Silva was rested against Borussia Dortmund in midweek as his team-mates crashed out of Europe with a 1-0 loss in Germany.
The Spaniard has not been at his influential best this season, only scoring once in his 16 appearances for the club. However, he has still shown his ability to unlock defences, which could be key in a tight clash with their city rivals.
Mancini is giving the 26-year-old all the time possible to recover from his hamstring problem, but he aired his worries about pushing players too hard during the club's busy December schedule.
"We will try with David," Mancini said. "It is a big risk because afterwards we have a lot of games between now and the end of December and we need all the players to recover."
Adding to Mancini's conundrum are injuries to Gael Clichy and James Milner who are battling to recover from ankle and hamstring problems respectively.