Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has told Pablo Zabaleta he is a big part of his plans.

Mancini has apologised to Zabaleta for not playing him more often.

"I hope we can recover Richards or Boateng next week," said Mancini. "I feel sorry for Pablo. He was fantastic against Fulham, as he always is.

"He scored a goal, he defended, he attacked. He is a fantastic man and a fantastic player.

"I am happy for Pablo. We always speak about Carlos (Tevez) because he is a fantastic player and scores the goals, same with (Mario) Balotelli.

"But sometimes we must also mention Zaba, (Vincent) Kompany, (Nigel) De Jong and (Gareth) Barry. These players are very important too."