Ivory Coast could exit the competition with a defeat this week.
Manchester City are likely to be secretly hoping that the Ivory Coast exit the African Nations Cup at the group stage this week with a defeat to Cameroon in their final group game, with the Daily Star reporting that the club have made plans to fly back Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony in time to face Chelsea at the weekend if Herve Renard’s side are defeated.
SEE MORE:
Chelsea fans must respect Frank Lampard
Ten most valuable young players in the world
Man City transfer news
The Ivory Coast entered the tournament as favourites, meaning that City will have been resigned to losing both players for a whole month, but Manuel Pellegrini could receive a much needed boost if the result in the Equatorial Guinea goes the right way on Wednesday.
It has become increasingly clear that City massively miss their leading midfielder when he is away, with successive 2-0 home defeats to Arsenal and Middlesbrough having highlighted the lack of energy and presence in central midfield that the club suffer from when Toure is away.
They face Chelsea this weekend in a game that Pellegrini has already admitted his side cannot afford to lose if they want to retain their Premier League title – and having both Toure and Bony available would be a huge boost.