Carlos Tévez was not in the team, on the substitutes’ bench or even inside the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City edged three points closer to a first league championship since 1968 with a routine 3-0 victory against Blackburn, yet the Argentine’s presence was clearly felt.
Tévez, the returning rebel who has been welcomed back into the fold at Manchester City having apologised for his recent conduct since ending his unauthorised three-month sojourn in Buenos Aires, might never play for Roberto Mancini’s first team again.
His attempts to return to full fitness with extra sessions on the training pitch may ultimately prove futile if Mancini chooses to omit his former captain for the final 12 league games of this season.
But the mere fact that Tévez is back in the dressing room and around the club ensures that Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli now have a proven Premier League goalscorer, and double title-winner, to worry about if their output in front of goal begins to diminish during the coming weeks.
Since Tévez lifted the grey cloud above Eastlands last week and banished his status as the elephant in the room by publicly apologising for his destructive behaviour this season, City have scored seven goals in two games, with Agüero, Dzeko and Balotelli all contributing at least one goal.
If the pattern continues and the goal glut extends, City and Mancini will be the big winners and Tévez might just have to accept an unwitting role as a non-playing catalyst.
So there is clearly no rush on Mancini’s part to add a temperamental ingredient to a recipe which, at the moment, does not require extra spice.
“The manager said maybe for Swansea [March 11], Carlos can be available for selection,” admitted Mancini’s assistant, David Platt. “That’s not too far away, but it could be a little bit longer than that.
“Carlos is back and he’s training. He’s a had period of time off, but he needs some conditioning and he needs to get ready for playing football again.
“He’s joining in the sessions and he does a little bit of work afterwards. He’s got his head down and that’s what he’s doing.
“But we need to find some 11 v 11 football for him. We will do that to get him into a condition where he’s available for selection if the manager wants to pick him, but that whole process takes a lot longer than 24 hours.”
The City supporters, desperate to see their team usurp Manchester United as champions, appear to have adopted a neutral stance on Tévez.
There are no banners devoted to him at Eastlands, such as the ‘Forza Mancini’ tribute to the manager, yet against Blackburn, there were no anti-Tévez chants or messages either.
Pragmatism appears to be the order of the day. An uneasy truce has been struck until the summer and, if Tévez can contribute to a title success, then he will achieve some kind of redemption.
“I don’t know how the fans will react to him,” Platt said. “I think we and Carlos have to cross that bridge when we come to it, but he can’t do more that he’s already done.
“He’s apologised and that apology has been accepted and we’re getting on with things for the good of Manchester City.”
City were never in any danger of requiring Tévez to rescue them against Blackburn, however.
Steve Kean’s team, who somehow secured a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford two months ago, were totally devoid of ambition and quality. If they avoid relegation, they will be one of the worst teams in the Premier League history to do so.
It was all too easy for City once Balotelli opened the scoring with a crisp half-volley on the half-hour.
The goal obliterated Blackburn’s tactic of playing for a point and second-half strikes from Agüero and Dzeko ensured City’s winning margin reflected their dominance.
