Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is hopeful playmaker David Silva can put his ankle problems behind him.
Silva is back in City's squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with Stoke after sitting out three of their last four games.
The Spaniard had been playing through the pain barrier since suffering a blow to the joint while on international duty last October.
Pellegrini wanted to ease the 30-year-old's workload ahead of the first leg of City's Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid next week and thinks the rest will have done him good.
Pellegrini said: "It was not a problem of ligament or muscle, it was a hard kick that could never recover 100 per cent from. I hope with the last treatment he is 100 per cent fit now and he won't have any more problems in the future.
"He has improved a lot this week so he is very confident he can play tomorrow. We will see how many minutes he will play and then we will assess him after that, but the way he is feeling at the moment I don't think he will have any problems."
Silva has been one of City's most influential players since his £26million move to the Etihad Stadium from Valencia in 2010.
In the year prior to that he was the subject of reported interest from Real Madrid, who were then in the charge of Pellegrini.
Asked if he was interested in taking Silva to the Bernabeu, Pellegrini said at a press conference: "Yes. He's a very good player and I think every manager wants to have David Silva in his squad."
The Chilean, however, says he does not remember why a deal never materialised.
"It was too many years ago," said Pellegrini, whose City side face his old team Real in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
Source: PA
