MANCHESTER -- Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been boosted by the return of Vincent Kompany and David Silva ahead of Sunday's crucial Premier League clash with Tottenham.
City welcome Spurs to the Etihad Stadium knowing that a defeat could strike a blow to their title hopes, with Pellegrini's men already five points off leaders Leicester, while a loss would see them fall four points behind their second-placed opponents.
However, Pellegrini will be able to call on the fit-again duo of Kompany and Silva against Mauricio Pochettino's side.
Kompany returned to training last week and Pellegrini says he has not suffered any problems with the calf injury that has reduced his playing time to just nine minutes in the last three months, while Silva has shaken off an ankle injury that forced him to be substituted in last weekend's 3-1 defeat to Leicester.
"They are two very important players," Pellegrini told a news conference. "David has been playing with a problem with his ankle for the last four or five games and I hope now he will be better. Vincent is coming back from a long injury and obviously he's a very important player for our team."
Kompany has made nine Premier League appearances for City this season and they have conceded just one goal with him on the pitch.
But Pellegrini would not reveal if the Belgium international will go straight back into his starting lineup on Sunday.
He said: "I think that every player who plays the game must be 100 percent to play. Vincent is working the last three weeks without any problem. He played 45 minutes in a friendly game with the under-21s so I think now he's ready to play."
City midfielder Fabian Delph, meanwhile, has been ruled out for up to seven weeks with an Achilles injury.
Defender Bacary Sagna will also miss Sunday's clash with a knee problem, with Pellegrini already without Kevin De Bruyne, Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfired Bony, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri.
"Bacary last week had a problem in his knee -- some liquid inside the knee, but he needs one week at least to return to work," Pellegrini said. "Fabian is worse because he has a problem in his Achilles tendon and he needs six or seven weeks for his recovery."
Delph, who has made only 11 starts for City this season, has suffered a bad run of injuries since his £8 million move from Aston Villa in the summer.
He sustained a hamstring problem in a preseason friendly against Real Madrid and damaged it again in September -- just 90 seconds into a Euro 2016 qualifier for England against Switzerland.