• Premier League

Balotelli to be back for United derby

ESPN staff
February 1, 2011
Injuries have affected Mario Balotelli's early career at Manchester City © PA Photos
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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes Mario Balotelli will be fit to return for the club's derby with Manchester United on February 12.

Earlier this month Balotelli was sent to the United States for a specialist examination on a knee injury he picked up against Aston Villa at the end of the December, with results showing the Italian will not need to undergo surgery.

The 20-year-old will not be fit for Wednesday's Premier League clash with Birmingham City, or the home game against West Brom at the weekend, but Mancini is now confident he will be available for the forthcoming trip to Old Trafford to play the club's cross-city rival.

"I hope everything is okay with Mario," said Mancini. "I think he could be ready for the derby."

In Balotelli's absence the club's new £27 million signing Edin Dzeko has stepped into the City first-team, scoring his first goal in English football to rescue a draw against Notts County in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Despite getting off the mark, Dzeko has admitted his early experiences of life in the Premier League have been unlike anything he went through while at former club Wolfsburg.

"It's very different and harder than the Bundesliga," Dzeko said. "I never played any games like this in Germany, not when you have to fight for 90 minutes.

"But if I want to be successful in England, I have to get used to it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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