Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said he is not "punishing" Vincent Kompany for playing for Belgium as he explained why he has omitted the City captain from his starting XI for recent games.
Kompany has been a substitute for City's last two matches, but Pellegrini said that was because of the form of Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi.
City have only conceded one goal this season with the Belgian on the pitch and have not kept a clean sheet since he suffered a calf injury in September's 2-1 Champions League defeat to Juventus.
The centre-back made his international comeback against Israel last week, contrary to his manager's wishes.
But Pellegrini said in a news conference: "I'm not punishing Vincent and I don't have any problems in the relationship with Vincent.
"I think that after one month, or five weeks, without playing and without training, you must be fit but you are not ready to play an important game. It's important to work some days before he returns to the team.
"I don't have any problem with Vincent Kompany. I need, every week, to choose the 11 that I think is the best for that game and when the others play they must wait.
"It's crucial to play with the best players for the moment. Mangala and Otamendi are doing well.
"I am happy already with the performance of both of them. I think that both of them are in a good moment, in the same way that Vincent and Mangala were at the start of the season."
Kompany made a late appearance as a substitute against Sevilla in the Champions League win at home to Sevilla on Wednesday.
Pellegrini said: "Because we just scored for 2-1, in the last minutes they were making a lot of crosses into the box, trying to link with their tall players and I think it was important for Vincent to be in [the game at] that moment."