Vincent Kompany is not suffering any mental scars after almost continuous injury setbacks, according to Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
The Chilean said the City captain was doing everything in his power to prove his fitness as the season draws to a close.
City remain in the hunt for the Champions League after seeing off Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals but face a tricky tie against Real Madrid in the semis, while on the domestic front they are not assured of a top-four finish with Manchester United four points behind them.
Kompany has not played since March 15 when he suffered yet another calf injury against Dynamo Kiev.
The Belgium international has made just 13 Premier League appearances this season, but Pellegrini said Kompany is not struggling mentally.
"He is a very strong player mentally so seeing him working – and we delayed a little bit his return to the first team – I think he is without any problems and he is working 100 per cent with normality," he said.
"So I don't think he has any mind problems and I hope that we will see him returning to his best performances."
And Pellegrini said he could start against Newcastle United on Tuesday, but added he did not want Kompany to tailor his game to avoid injury.
"We are going to see tomorrow, just finish talking with him and the doctor, but I think that now he is ready to start," he said.
"It's difficult. I think he must continue playing the same way because it's the way he feels football, that is the way he must work every day and he is a very temperamental player so I don’t think he will change.
"I think he's able to play two games a week. It's not the same muscle, not the same leg or injury.
"Maybe he must review a lot of things, as other players do, to try to have less injuries.
"But when he's fit I think he can play two or three games a week without a problem."
