City boosted as players return from injury

Manchester City’s hopes of winning the 2008/2009 UEFA Europa League have been boosted by news that Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov will be making a comeback from injury within days.

Petrov damaged knee ligaments during a World Cup qualifier in October and has missed the bulk of City’s season as a result. However, the club is likely to benefit from the injection of a key player into the squad as the season heads to a climax.

“He’s on track now,” City manager Mark Hughes confirmed. “There was a bit of concern a couple of weeks ago about the knee but the specialist found it was just the stitching inside the knee.”

“Maybe it was irritating the ligament. But he had an injection popped into it and that cleared it up. Now it’s just a case of getting games into him. He’s a fit guy and not the type to put too much weight on. Hopefully he’ll be an option very soon.”

Hughes has welcomed news that Petrov may be joined by sidelined teammates Danny Sturridge and Michael Johnson in coming weeks, and says that their enthusiasm might be the boost Manchester City needs to finish the season on a high.

“You can introduce that energy and enthusiasm those players will have on their return,” Hughes told Sky Sports. “We’ve got players who are itching to get back into the side and that’s going to be a real boost.”

Manchester City play the first leg of their quarterfinal tie against Hamburg on the 9th of April.