Samir Nasri will be available to return from injury for Manchester City’s next game against Hull on Saturday.

The French midfielder has missed the last three games against Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Chelsea with a groin problem. His return is a big boost for manager Manuel Pellegrini considering how much of an impact he has been having this season.

It’s probably no coincidence that during his absence Manchester City have been knocked out of the FA Cup and taken just one point from the games against Arsenal and Chelsea combined.

his contribution to the team can go occasionally unnoticed.

The French midfielder doesn’t score a particularly large amount of goals, so his contribution to the team can go occasionally unnoticed. However his pass completion in the middle of the field, and the ability to hold onto the ball, often helps Manchester City exert pressure onto teams that lead to goal scoring opportunities.

Nasri has completed 90.3% of his passes this season, making you wonder just how big a loss he was for the Chelsea game in particular where we needed somebody to consistently feed in Sergio Aguero in dangerous positions.

There are some criticisms that having Samir Nasri and David Silva in the side simultaneously leaves Manchester City open to the counter attack due to the relatively low defensive contributions from the two players. Where this problem becomes more obvious is in the space between Nasri and Gael Clichy, as when James Milner plays in Nasri’s stead he hurries back making sure that Clichy is not pushed up out of position.

now City can restate their claim to the title.

The game against Hull on Saturday is a chance for a fresh start. Manchester City have pretty terrible form going into the match after Chelsea, Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Everton, but now City can restate their claim to the title. Having Samir Nasri back for a fresh push forward is good news, and hopefully it wont be too long before he is joined by Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony.

Will Samir Nasri start at the weekend? As of Monday he has been back in training, so that’s probably enough time to be fully fit. Being match fit is another question, Manuel Pellegrini may prefer to bring him on off the bench in order to ease him back in a bit given that he has been out for around 3 weeks.