Manchester City captain Kompany in line for Belgium appearance

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is poised to feature in Belgium's World Cup qualification matches against Macedonia, despite Roberto Mancini urging the defender to rest his calf injury during the international break.

The 26-year-old has not featured for the Premier League champions since their 2-0 victory over Fulham on January 19, while City have slipped to 15 points behind Manchester United in the centre-back's absence.

Belgium assistant head coach Vital Borkelmans has revealed that Kompany could feature in the national side's upcoming away fixture against Macedonia on March 22, as well as their return match four days later.

"Vincent is now training with the physical coach," Borkelmans told Sky Sports News. "He also trained very hard at City.

"He is very important for the group and we are quite happy he is here. We will make a decision on Wednesday or Thursday whether he can play or not."

Mancini expressed his desire for Kompany to sit out the international double-header before Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Everton, insisting an extended period of recuperation was key to avoid irritating the defender’s injury.

"We don't want to take a risk at this moment because we have one game and then it is the international break so it's best he is recovering," Mancini told reporters.

"The calf is a dangerous injury. If you don't recover very well then you can have a problem for four, five or six weeks in a row."