Silva is eager to play despite injury

Cape Town - Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini reveals that midfielder David Silva is always committed to play for the Citizens, despite discomfort in his ankle.

The 30-year-old suffered a knock to his ankle during pre-season, which only allowed him to make one Premier League start in the first three months of the campaign.

Silva has fought hard to regain his fitness and form, scoring for City in their 3-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie three weeks ago.

Pellegrini confirmed the playmaker has been playing with discomfort in his ankle and they are monitoring his condition, but says Silva is always ready to play despite the pain.

"We are always talking with the doctor and David," Pellegrini said.

"He feels some pain in his ankle, but he says that he can play.

The Blues have failed to win consecutive league matches since October, following their 0-0 draw against struggling Norwich City on Saturday, but Pellegrini was quick to add their lack of scoring against Norwich was not caused by Silva's injury problem.

"I don't want to focus that we could not score goals [against Norwich] because David has a problem in his ankle because last game we scored four against Aston Villa," he concluded.