The Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell has said that he is expecting to return to the first-team action in January. The former Everton man has not been of the first-team regulars at the club since arriving in a £ 12 million deal in the summer. In fact, he has made just six appearances for Roberto Mancini’s men after he has struggled with a lot of injuries. Rodwell came to Manchester City with a history of several injuries over the last few years, which have meant that clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea – who were previously interested in him – pulled out of the deal.
The 21-year-old, though, has incredible potential and Mancini thinks that he will be able to get the best out of him. Due to the fact that City will be losing the services of Yaya Touré for the 2013 African cup of nations, the return of Rodwell to the first team will be a major boost for Mancini. City have fallen seven points behind leaders United the table, which has put a lot of pressure on the manager. He is widely expected to get the sack if City do not win the Premier league title this season. The red card received by Samir Nasri in the match against Norwich means that he will be unavailable for the next three matches as well.
“I’ve just had a little bit of a setback with my hamstring injury. It will probably be another few weeks, so I’m looking into the new year. I’m doing quite a lot of training at the minute though, so I’m keeping busy. It’s down to strengthening now, so I’m doing a lot of work in the gym and am just getting it right to prevent another injury,” said Rodwell. Rodwell’s last appearance for the club was back in October.