Manuel Pellegrini has declared that Vincent Kompany is no longer a Manchester City untouchable.
Manager Pellegrini admitted he could not contemplate omitting his captain at the start of the season, when Kompany helped City keep five consecutive clean sheets.
But he was then sidelined by a calf injury and Pellegrini has opted not to recall the Belgian, instead preferring to pair Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi in the centre of the defence.
Pellegrini defended his decision by saying in a news conference: "The importance is the moment of the player. Maybe if you remember last season we finished the last six games without Vincent and we won all six, conceding only two.
"So the moment of the player is the most important thing. At the beginning of the season I said Vincent and Mangala were untouchable because they were playing very well.
"We bought Otamendi and he didn't play because they were doing so well. After that there's a lot of things why the performances of the players change and it is my duty to choose the best 11 every game."
Pellegrini has refused to guarantee Kompany a recall for Sunday's Manchester derby.
He added: "He was five weeks without playing and on his return he played 45 minutes, he's fit. We'll see when he'll return. But I always say this team is better with Vincent than without him."