Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov is back at Carrington and ready to start on the road to recovery following his Achilles tendon injury. City boss Mark Hughes told the club's official web site: "He's back with us now and will be starting his rehabilitation in earnest.

"He was showing everybody his scar yesterday like a war wound. I've seen scars from that type of injury before and they looked a lot angrier than Valeri's does.

"It looks excellent in fairness and we're very hopeful given where the tendon snapped. If there is a good place it was the optimum position, right in the middle, so the prognosis is really good for him."