Balotelli's pain in the grass

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini will monitor Mario Balotelli's fitness after the Italian striker suffered an allergic reaction during the Europa League defeat by Dynamo Kiev. Whether the £24million summer signing from Inter Milan will come into contention for the home FA Cup quarter-final with npower Championship side Reading on Sunday remains to be seen. Balotelli, 20, eventually came off in the 57th minute after being over a minute late coming out for the second half with City losing 2-0 in the last-16 first leg game. He appeared in some distress and was constantly rubbing his face before being replaced by Carlos Tevez. Mancini said: "Mario had an allergy, I don't know what, his face was swollen, I don't know why. He wanted to play in the second half but he had this problem 10 seconds before coming out. "I came out a minute before the players and I didn't see Mario. He then said he could play but his face was swollen." It is understood Balotelli is allergic to certain types of grass.

Source: PA