Sergio Aguero injury: Manuel Pellegrini hints that striker could return to action when Chelsea visit Manchester City

Manuel Pellegrini has hinted that Sergio Aguero could be fit in time to play Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

The Manchester City striker, who was on the bench for the impressive opening day win against West Bromwich Albion, is three weeks behind the rest of the squad because of his involvement in the Copa America, where Argentina reached the final.

Aguero came on at The Hawthorns and played just under half an hour with the side already 3-0 up.

"Sergio has worked the whole week without any problems," said Pellegrini. "Maybe he is not 100 per cent, but he doesn't have any problems."

Speaking on Thursday, Aguero admitted it was a race whether he would be fit in time.

“Whether I start or not remains to be seen,” Aguero told the club website on Thursday. “I’m trying to get there and be in top condition, but arriving for pre-season later having taken part in the Copa America with Argentina means I need some additional time.

“With the whole season in mind, what matters the most is that I get in top form and don’t take any risks.”

Aguero believes winning the title will be harder than ever this season, but he is relishing the challenge of being crowned champions for the third time in five years.

He said: “One thing you can say about the Premier League is that every year, it gets better.

“Once again, many teams have made very important additions and that means there’s no single rival for us this season.

“It’d be very naive to think that Chelsea will be the only team competing for the top position - there will be many of us and each one will challenge in their own style.

“We’ll stay hungry for glory, we’ll do our jobs, we’ll win all we possibly can and see where that takes us.”