ROQUE Santa Cruz is back - and raring to form a powerhouse partnership with Emmanuel Adebayor.

During his long rehabilitation from knee surgery, Santa Cruz has been pigeonholed by some observers as "back-up" for the big Togolese ace, especially after Adebayor began the season with four goals on his first four league games.

And there is little doubt that manager Mark Hughes has been extra-careful with the Paraguayan's comeback, as he will be crucial once Adebayor packs his bags for the African Cup of Nations in January.

Santa Cruz made his long-awaited debut for the final ten minutes of Monday night's win over West Ham, a game which Adebayor missed as he completed his three-match ban.

But 6ft 2ins Santa Cruz feels that the day will come when he and the 6ft 3ins Adebayor team up in a formidable duo.

Hughes is keen on his "horses for courses" and Santa Cruz feels that they may pair up in games against teams which have height and are very physical, or those which are susceptible to such things.

"We are big guys but we both also like to play with the ball," he said. "The kind of football we practice won't change at all - we play together in training and at some point we should be up front together.

"You get teams who are very physical, and then you will need two big guys up front but to still play good football. That will come and we will take it when it happens."

Santa Cruz is expected to be on the bench again on Monday night, when a win at Aston Villa would give City their best start to a season since 1897, when Queen Victoria was on the throne. To Santa Cruz, suffering those long, hard days of rehabilitation, have made it feel like it might have been 1897 when he last played!

"It has been very hard," said the 28-year-old former Blackburn man. "I have worked really hard, and every day has been a case of working seven or eight hours with the physios.

"But they have been fantastic, and always try to keep you in a good mood. They were at the match on Monday and I could see their faces, and that they were very happy to see me back.

Roque determination

"It was April that I had the operation, so it has been a long time. I stopped counting the days to my first game, but finally it happened.

"You know you have to work hard, and once you get going, you just get used to it and try to perform.

"There have been days where I have been very positive but then you come back the next day and it doesn't seem as good as you thought.

"It's always frustrating when you are injured but at the same time it's very nice to see the team playing and performing as we have been doing.

"I am happy to be part of a team which has such a great dressing room. Everyone is positive, and no matter how many big names we have bought, they have all been great personalities in the dressing room and helpful to each other.

"Now I just want my first start and my first goal."

That may require another dollop of patience for Santa Cruz, with Adebayor having such a great start to the season, and both Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy hitting form.

But Santa Cruz says the squad rotation is an accepted fact of life at City these days - and if it leads to a top-four finish at the end of the season, there will be no dissenters.

Far from being daunted by the prospect of trying to break into a team in such good form, Santa Cruz says he is delighted at how things are shaping up.

"When you have such great players, such fantastic personalities, it makes communication during games easier. And it means being in training every day is helpful," he explained.

"On Monday, I came into the side when we needed to hold the ball up front. Having a big guy gives you the chance to do that and give a little breather to the rest of the players.

"With me, Adebayor, Tevez and Bellamy, we all have different kinds of qualities which you can bring to the game when you think it's best.

"Our squad is so big that we have players for every kind of position in which the gaffer wants someone. It's a happy situation for him."

There has also been talk that Robinho was rested at Portsmouth on his own say-so, with Brazil facing a big World Cup qualifier against Argentina the following week.

Hughes treats such talk with disdain, and Santa Cruz says there is no question who is the boss.

"You can go and knock on the manager's door, but I don't think he will listen to you! He has his ideas and is good at taking decisions," said the man Hughes brought to England.

"He also knows everyone is just waiting for their chances, and that whoever comes in will do their best to perform as well as everyone else has done in the past few weeks."

Do you think Adebayor and Santa Cruz would be a successful parternship? Have your say.