City can cope with Yaya loss

Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has urged all his team–mates to step up to compensate for the loss of Yaya Toure.

Toure, the champions' midfield driving force, might not be seen in a City shirt for seven weeks as he prepares for international duty.

The 29 year old Ivory Coast star missed eight games during last year's tournament — during which City were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions and lost an important Barclays Premier League game at Everton.

City recovered to win the title but Zabaleta is anxious to ensure Toure's absence, and that of his brother Kolo, doesn’t cause similar probles this year.

The Argentina international said: "It's going to be a very tough time for us. We know how important Yaya is to the team but there are other players who can do the same job.

"Everybody is important for the team and we need to keep working hard.”

City had hoped the players would at least be available for Saturday's FA Cup third–round tie against Watford – which is still more than two weeks before Ivory Coast's first fixture in South Africa – but any requests seem unlikely to be granted.