ROBINHO is set for a shock return for City against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

But City boss Mark Hughes will wait until the 11th hour before making a decision ahead of a game that Blues fans see as vital if the long-established top four is to be broken up.

Rather than risk the Brazilian superstar from the start, a highly likely option would be to name him on the bench.

Robinho has not featured for the Blues since late August, having suffered a stress fracture of his ankle while on international duty with Brazil.

And his future has been the subject of intense speculation which increased after City team-mate Roque Santa Cruz revealed that the £32.5m club-record signing has spoken openly of one day joining Barcelona.

But Robinho insists his only focus is on winning back his Blues first-team spot and he was all smiles at training yesterday after returning from Qatar.

He had caused a furore last week by staying there with the Brazil squad after making the short trip from City's Abu Dhabi training camp to have his fitness assessed.

It was a move that surprised the Blues as they were expecting him to return straight to their camp once Brazil's medical staff had checked out his injury.

Robinho played no part in Brazil's victories over England and Oman. Hughes has since spoken to the player about what happened and the club now consider the matter closed.

Robinho is now keen to put the matter behind him and get playing again after a frustrating lay-off lasting almost three months.

Hughes is understood to be reluctant to risk playing Robinho from the start against Liverpool.

He will keep a check on the playmaker's progress over the next 24 hours though before deciding whether he is worthy of a place on the bench.

"He is back training with the group, which is pleasing from everyone's point of view," said Hughes.

"He is travelling with us and we will make a decision [on his fitness] tomorrow.

"It could be a bit early for him to be involved, but certainly he will be in the frame for next week's game against Hull."

The manager lost one of his left-sided options in midweek as Martin Petrov was ruled out for up to a fortnight after suffering a knee injury on international duty with Bulgaria.

Petrov and Craig Bellamy have filled the left-sided midfield role during Robinho's absence with the Welshman expected to do the job against his former club tomorrow.

The Blues are keen to end a sequence of five successive league draws by winning at Anfield for only the second time since 1981. A sixth straight league stalemate tomorrow lunchtime would equal a club record set in 1913.

The Blues drew their final four First Division games of the 1912-13 campaign against Everton, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn and Derby, then added to that run at the start of the following season against Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.

City midfielder Gareth Barry believes it is time City started turning draws into wins. Barry said: “This is an important period of the season coming up where we need to make things happen.

We look at blocks of fixtures in team meetings and maybe set targets - but in training we just look at it one game at a time.

"All everyone is thinking about now is the Liverpool game and taking it from there if we can get a good result.”