Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany vows to take it easy on his return to fitness and pay attention to the experts
Belgium international has promised to become a better patient in bid to overcome his famed KO worries
VINCENT KOMPANY has vowed to be honest with himself — and listen to the experts in his latest injury comeback.
The Manchester City skipper started his first Premier League game since April in the 1-1 draw against Southampton on Sunday.
That came after a puzzling sequence of events ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona last week, when he was left out of the 18 despite his team-mates believing him to be fit.
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Boss Pep Guardiola then revealed the Belgium centre-back, 30, had indicated he did not feel right mentally.
Kompany said: “I’ve been out for six months. I had to make one commitment to the medical staff, which was that I would be honest towards them with my feelings — and that I would listen to them when they made a decision.
“I told them how I felt the day before the game in Barcelona and they made the decision for me.
“I wanted to play, of course. That wasn’t even in doubt, but I’ve just made this commitment to listen to them a little bit more.
“Maybe another day I would never have gone off after 70 minutes like I did against Southampton. But it’s part of the bargain — let’s put it that way — and it’s for the best.”
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Kompany has lifted five trophies, including two Premier League titles, for City and the prospect of winning more silverware spurred him on during all the dark days of rehab.
He said: “If I give up, then I know the outcome. But if I carry on, there is a chance I will relive those moments.
“So my motivation can never be in doubt. I feel like I belong on the pitch.
“And I deserve to have good moments because of how hard I’ve worked every single day to come back.”
Tomorrow night’s Manchester derby in the EFL Cup fourth round is another chance for Kompany to prove to Guardiola that he is still the man to lead City on the field.
At some point though, they will have to replace him — and the ex-Hamburg and Anderlecht player is refusing to set himself unrealistic targets.
Kompany added: “The one thing you learn is not to speculate too much or look too far into the future.
“I’m just happy the Southampton game went well, physically, and I’m happy I can look forward to being in contention for another game.
“There are some steps to build up now. First of all for me, is being back to being really healthy.
“Then it’s having a place in the team that makes a difference for the lads — but everything in time.”
SKIPPER'S HEALTH RECORD
VINCENT KOMPANY has had his fair of injury woes since arriving in England.
His groin strain — sustained last month in his comeback at Swansea — was the 34TH TIME in his Manchester City career he had been crocked.
The centre-back limped off in the Champions League semi-finals in May with his fourth thigh injury since signing in 2008. That kept him out for 133 days — the longest spell of his City career — and forced him to miss Belgium’s Euro 2016 finals campaign.
Kompany, 30, has been crocked for 605 days — more than 19 months — while at the club.