Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that midfielder Samir Nasri is an "important" part of his squad and will provide a boost should he be fit to return against Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Pellegrini said that he has players capable of filling in for Nasri, but that the Frenchman was a key member of his first-team squad and City are better with him.

"He is a very important player, it is impossible not to miss him," Sky Sports News quotes Pellegrini as saying. "But we also had other injured players before him - David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany - and we always managed to continue winning.

"Samir Nasri is a very important player and we always miss him, but with the squad we have I think we can also win without him. I think it is very important to have players, Samir Nasri and Javi Garcia, fit for this game. It is very important for us."

The game kicks off at 5.15pm on Saturday.