Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted Owen Hargreaves' return to fitness has taken him by surprise.

The Italian is staggered at the way Hargreaves has returned after virtually three years out, barely three weeks after joining City.

"When we took him we thought we could recover him in two months," revealed Mancini. "Our plans were from December or January.

"It will be tougher against better opposition but on Wednesday, he played well. Not because he scored. It was because he moved well.

"Usually when a player comes back after one or two years, he has a problem with his ankle or his muscle. But after the game, there was nothing."