MANCHESTER -- Vincent Kompany is close to a return for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola can't wait to get him back in his team.
The City skipper isn't likely to feature in the Premier League clash with Everton on Saturday but with seven games in 21 days coming up, Guardiola is desperate to get him back onto the pitch.
Kompany walked off in injury time of the EFL Cup victory over Swansea City on Sept. 21 with a groin injury. It was the Belgium defender's only appearance of the season and comes after persistent muscle injuries that have seen him miss 59 matches over the past two seasons.
Kompany has been back in full training and Guardiola says he will make his return to the first-team soon.
"He's close. The injury was minimal at Swansea. He's almost ready to come back," Guardiola told a news conference. "I need him, we need him, definitely."
Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph are also recovering from injuries although Guardiola wouldn't reveal if any would play a part in the game against Everton.
Meanwhile, the City boss says he expects his players to improve after their draw with Celtic and defeat to Tottenham Hotspur immediately before the international break.
Asked what sort of reaction he expected after those setbacks, Guardiola said: "The best. I always expect the best from my team and my players.
"It doesn't so much matter if we won or lost, we have to try to win again for these seven games in three weeks.
"But I am so proud. Even in our defeat at Tottenham, I know they wanted to do it. Sometimes the opponent is better, you shake hands and move on, improve. When you lose the only thing to do is improve."