Manchester City are set to lose the services of their stalwart midfielder Yaya Toure early as Ivory Coast begin their Africa Cup of Nations preparations in earnest.
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Elephants coach Sabri Lamouchi has requested that his players assemble for a meeting before Saturday as they shape up for the South African showpiece.
City boss Roberto Mancini was hoping to have the services of his talismanic midfield man for their FA Cup tie against Watford on the weekend.
What could prove important is that title rivals United are one of only five clubs who will not be losing any players during the six-week tournament.
This could prove telling as the Citizens cannot afford to drop points if they are to defend their Premier league crown, while they are faced with some tricky fixtures during this time, including matches against Arsenal and Liverpool.
For Mancini there is frustration that Lamouchi insisted on taking the Toure brothers and squad player Abdul Razak on Saturday.
"We tried to keep them," the Italian said. "We spoke with the manager and he said they can't stay for this game - for three hours. It's just a meeting."
City, who are already out of the UEFA Champions League and find themselves seven points behind United, will be looking to make easy pickings of their top-flight counterparts as they plan life without the younger Toure.
The AFCON will start in South Africa on January 19 and will last until February 10.
Teams from all over Europe will be reeling in a mass exodus of their African players for the tournament.
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