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Sergio Aguero could be back in action for Manchester City on Saturday.

And, in a triple boost for the Blues, Vincent Kompany and Edin Dzeko are also lined up for a return to action at Everton as they head into a crucial phase of the title race.

Aguero returned to outdoor training this week, and will have been out of action for five weeks by the time the squad heads to Goodison Park.

The Argentine ace, who still heads the Premier League goalscoring charts despite his absence, urged caution in a tweet he put out on Monday.

He said: “I wanted you to know I’ve already started field work. Slowly but surely I’ll be back at the right moment. Thanks for the wishes!”

But M.E.N. Sport understands Aguero is progressing well, and – as long as he continues to improve – is pencilled in for a place on the bench at Everton, at least a week ahead of schedule.

It would be ironic if he does make his comeback against the Toffees, as he sustained his medial collateral ligament injury in City’s 1-0 win over the Merseysiders at the Etihad Stadium last month.

At the time, manager Manuel Pellegrini predicted the injury would take from four to six weeks, or possibly eight weeks, putting Aguero’s participation in crunch games against Arsenal at home on January 18, and Chelsea away on January 31, at risk.

But Aguero has responded well to treatment, the injury was a low-grade one, and he should be back in full training by the end of this week.

Kompany is also fit again after suffering with calf and hamstring problems. At a push he could have played in the FA Cup third round win over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend but was not risked with so many big games coming up.

Dzeko sparked a striker crisis when he pulled up with a calf problem in the warm-up at Leicester, a week after Aguero’s injury – and he is also close to a comeback.

That means City are close to having the full complement of three senior strikers back, along with the possible addition of Wilfried Bony from Swansea.

Jovetic suffered a slight hamstring tweak in early December, and that meant City went into pre-festive games at Leicester and Crystal Palace without their three front men.

But they won at Leicester with a Frank Lampard goal as 18-year-old Jose Angel Pozo was drafted in to the team, and then the midfielders all weighed in with goals over Christmas as City closed the gap on Chelsea at the top.

David Silva scored four, Yaya Toure two and there was one each for Fernandinho and Fernando, while James Milner filled in as a makeshift striker.

The loss of Aguero was seen as a major blow to City’s title hopes after he began the season with a brilliant burst of 19 goals in 21 appearances.

But since he limped off in tears after seven minutes of the Everton game, the Blues have won five and drawn one of their six league games, qualified for the Champions League last 16 with a superb win at Roma and taken their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend.

In fact, Aguero’s absence could now be viewed as a blessing as he will return to action refreshed and hungry – and with Arsenal and Chelsea looming in the league, and the big European showdown with Barcelona just seven weeks away, that could work to City’s advantage.