Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson admits Elano may not play against Birmingham City on Saturday after flying back from international duty with Brazil.

"I have been in this situation before," conceded Eriksson. "When I was with Lazio I had Salas, Crespo and Veron all in the Argentina side for World Cup qualifying and that group always follows the same fixtures.

"One of those three players could not handle the situation and never played on a Saturday after such a long trip but the other two were fine to play and could handle it. It is very much an individual thing.

"I will speak to the doctor but we will leave it as late as possible to make a decision. Hopefully, Elano will sleep on the plane. It is not so much about being physically tired as the jet lag. Some suffer from it very much and others less.

"He will not train on Friday but I hope he can do a jog or something. I hope he is ready. I will have to rely on his honesty because all players - especially in a winning team - will say that they want to play. I hope he will be fine."