Robinho back, but for how long?

The Brazil international has been sidelined for three months with an ankle problem, during which time he has been continually linked with a transfer to Barcelona.

First-team coach Eddie Niedzwiecki has been supervising Robinho's return to full training sessions this week, and told the Manchester Evening News: "Robi's looking really good. "We were pleased, after all the speculation when he went with Brazil, that he didn't play for them, because he wasn't ready.

"He had good training and good treatment while with them though and has come back to us looking sharper by the day.

"Things are looking very promising for him in terms of the weekend, and he should be up for selection."

Meanwhile, Kolo Toure is expected to return to training on Thursday after recovering from a back problem while Martin Petrov, Vincent Kompany and Michael Johnson are also close to full fitness.