Robinho ready for in-form AaB

Manchester City FC manager Mark Hughes has confirmed that club-record signing Robinho has recovered from an ankle injury and is in the squad to face an Aalborg BK team unbeaten in 16 matches in all competitions.

Fit and ready
The Brazilian international was back in his homeland last week for treatment, causing him to miss the Premier League club's 2-0 defeat of Aston Villa FC on 4 March. The 25-year-old has since returned to full training with the rest of the squad and is at Hughes's disposal as City aim to eliminate their third Danish opponents from the UEFA Cup this season following victories against FC Midtjylland and, in the last round, FC København.

'Inspiration'
"Robbie has trained all week, he looks fit and well so he is available," said Hughes, who is without striker Craig Bellamy and defensive midfielder Vincent Kompany because of knee and toe injuries respectively. "He has that ability to unlock the door. Sometimes you need that flash of brilliance or inspiration to break teams down, to create something out of nothing. Robbie certainly has that capability."

United draw
That ability may well be needed against an AaB side who are unbeaten since a 6-3 defeat by Villarreal CF on UEFA Champions League Matchday 3. Magnus Pehrsson's side have since drawn 2-2 with their opponents' city rivals, Manchester United FC, and eased past RC Deportivo La Coruña 6-1 on aggregate in the Round of 32.

'Warning'
However, despite extending that run with a 1-1 draw against FC Nordsjælland on Sunday, AaB midfielder Thomas Enevoldsen was far from satisfied and has urged his team-mates to raise their game at the City of Manchester Stadium. "This was definitely a warning that we will need to play at a higher level against City – if we don't we risk getting beaten," said Enevoldsen, who scored in the second leg against Deportivo.