Midfielder Kompany has suffered long-term injury problems

Midfielder Kompany has suffered long-term injury problems

Manchester City midfielder Vincent Kompany is set to miss the start of the Premier League season in August because he is scheduled to have foot surgery.

Belgian international Kompany, 23, has been forced to return from City's pre-season training camp in Bavaria.

He needed injections and wore specially adapted boots last season in an attempt to cure the problem.

Boss Mark Hughes told City's website: "If he has to have an operation Vincent will miss the start of the season."

Kompany joined City from Hamburg in August 2008 for an undisclosed fee.

Hughes added: "We sent him to a consultant surgeon at the end of last season and he recommended injecting the toe and giving him six weeks' complete rest but he was suffering the same amount of pain again in training in Germany.

"He's been back to see the surgeon now. We hoped the rest would cure it but it's a bit more complex than that. It's important that we address it now and make sure Vince is fit for the rest of the season.

"We nursed him through to the point where he had to concede that he just couldn't carry on. He had numerous needles into the joint but he stuck with it bravely. He did really well for the team."