Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admits Owen Hargreaves 'gamble' hasn't paid off

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that the gamble signing of Owen Hargreaves has not paid off as he has again endured an injury hit campaign.

Mancini signed the former Manchester United man as cover for his midfield, but Hargreaves has gone on to make just 4 appearances this season.

Owen Hargreaves

It was a shock when the 31-year-old signed a one-year contract in the summer, but, since the January loan acquisition of David Pizarro from Roma, he has admitted that the transfer hasn’t quite worked out as he had hoped.

"We took a gamble on Owen because he was such a fantastic player," Mancini told Sky Sports.

"We thought we could try to get him fit in two or three months and then he would be able to play. But it hasn't worked out quite like that.

"When you have a player who hasn't played for two years and he starts to train every day there are small problems all the time. Problems in the knees or the hamstrings. So Owen hasn't been able to play when we have needed him.

"He may play again this season but he is not ready now. I hope eventually he will be able to play all the time. He deserves to, because he is a really nice guy."

Mancini also moved swiftly to dismiss any similarities between David Pizarro and Hargreaves.

"David is not a gamble, he's a top player,"

"He can play as defensive midfielder or he can play in the Yaya Toure position. We need cover at the moment because we have players away in Africa, and also because when the Europa League starts we will be back to playing every three days."