Silva, Bony in contention for Manchester City on Saturday

Manchester City has received a boost amid the worrying news on goalkeeper Joe Hart's fitness, with David Silva and Wilfried Bony able to return to the lineup for Saturday's Premier League meeting with Southampton.

The mercurial Silva has not featured for his club since his two assists in City's 6-1 demolition of Newcastle United on Oct. 3, as he was injured while representing Spain six days later.

"It's important to have David back - he is a very important player, the same as 'Kun' (Sergio Aguero). It's very difficult to replace him," manager Manuel Pellegrini admitted at the prematch press conference.

"David gives us a different way of playing - we have good possession against teams with eight or nine players of theirs behind the ball and David is the player with the most accurate passes in the final third."

Meanwhile, Bony played as recently as Nov. 8 in the 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, but left the tie clutching his left hamstring in the 25th minute. The Ivorian has come under criticism for his lack of prolificacy in front of goal and a City shirt, and is likely to feature as an understudy to Aguero on Saturday.