Pellegrini: Best of Aguero yet to come

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says the best of Sergio Aguero is yet to come and is confident he will flourish in the New Year.

The striker returned from injury in the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal last week, but was substituted shortly after the hour mar.

The 27-year-old was then benched for the 4-1 over Sunderland, before starting Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Leicester City, but again failed to complete 90 minutes.

However, Pellegrini has backed his top scorer to come good and says it's natural that his performance levels have dipped given his recent physical problems.

"We know Kun needs three or four games to return his performance after an injury and I am sure we are going to see the best Kun in the second half of the season," Pellegrini was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

"I never talk about individual performances because we are a team. We know, because we know him and after all this year he needs two or three games to return to his normal performance.

"He needs these minutes. I don’t want him to play more than 65 or 67 minutes.

"It will be very useful to see the best Kun in the first round of the second half of the season."