Kompany’s ‘intensity’ makes him prone to injury, says Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini believes Vincent Kompany's intensity makes the Manchester City captain vulnerable to injury.

Kompany will miss today’s game against West Ham United and Tuesday’s Capital One Cup trip to Sunderland because of a calf problem and will be assessed before next weekend’s game at Tottenham.

Kompany suffered the injury in the 2-1 defeat by Juventus in the Champions League group match. It was the 10th time he has injured a calf in three and a half years.

His absence means Pellegrini will have to break up a defence that has kept five clean sheets in the five Premier League matches and was also in place against Juventus.

The manager shrugged off the number of calf issues Kompany has had, and pointed to how the Belgian approaches his game. “The way he plays, Vincent plays with 100 per cent intensity, not just every game but every training session,” Pellegrini said. “That’s the way he always works.”

Asked if he had ever requested Kompany to ease off, the Chilean said: “It’s difficult. It is not easy for him. He tries sometimes not to be always 100 per cent intensity, but you cannot change.”

Kompany's absence means Nicolas Otamendi should make his first start since his €44 million transfer from Valencia. Guardian service