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Manuel Pellegrini says Fernandinho could still turn out against Barcelona - if he can prove his fitness in training on Monday.

The Blues boss also refused to rule out the possibility Sergio Aguero could make a surprise return after three weeks out with a hamstring injury, but getting his top scorer back seems less likely.

“It’s my opinion that for Aguero it is very difficult,” said the Chilean, whose team bounced back to form with an FA Cup fifth round win over Chelsea on Saturday.

“Fernandinho? Maybe if he worked yesterday [Sunday] with no problem and today he is 100 per cent fit - and if he does not have any fear about his injury - we will see if he can play.

“They have to be 100 per cent. if there is any risk of them being injured again, they won’t play. We will talk to the doctor and see what happens.”

Matija Nastasic is already ruled out, but the big positive for Pellegrini was that Samir Nasri and Javi Garcia both returned from injury lay-offs in impressive fashion.

Garcia’s form was especially heartening, as defensive midfield has been a weak area with Fernandinho also out.

“I think Javi played a superb game, in all senses - practical, technical,” he said. “It’s not easy when you have just come back from injury after two or three weeks out.

“He is always an important option but at the moment I’m not thinking about what we’re doing on Tuesday. We will see how the players recover.”

Pellegrini said that the victory against Chelsea was partly driven by a desire for retribution after the league defeat by Jose Mourinho’s side.

“I felt the team wanted revenge, not just against Chelsea, but also because of the Norwich game,” he said.

“I don’t think the team was fresh enough for those games, because they had played so many games in the previous two months.”

See all our buildup to the Barca game here.