Manchester City's Mark Hughes is mulling over the prospect of handing Carlos Tevez a friendly run-out against Celtic.

However, Hughes is mindful of the fact the Argentina coach Diego Maradona has agreed to his request not to name the striker in his squad to face Russia in a friendly next week.

New signing Tevez is recovering from a heel injury and could be in the squad to face Celtic on Saturday.

Hughes said: "Carlos came through a training session well. We will see how he goes tomorrow.

"There might be a possibility we could give him a little bit of a game (on Saturday). But if we feel it is a risk we won't do that.

"We are pleased he is fit and well at the moment. It is basically about putting a bit more fitness into him.

"He is not going with the international squad with is good news from our point of view. We thank the Argentina FA in that regard because of they have been very understanding of Carlos' situation. They know he has not had a great deal of training."

While Tevez is on the mend, Hughes revealed that Roque Santa Cruz is two-and-a-half weeks away from training with the group.

The former Blackburn striker's progress has been hampered by a knee problem.

Hughes said: "Roque is training every day but still has a bit of rehab to go. He is about two and half weeks away from coming back into the group. Then there will be a period of time when he will to get some general fitness.

"We are mindful of that as we have options up front. We won't push him back before he is ready.

"He is progressing well. We are confident he is on time and he will be a great option for us."