KOLO TOURE returns to action tonight after a six-month drug ban, vowing: I will be stronger than ever. The Manchester City defender lines up against Carling Cup holders Birmingham in his first match since February 27.
Toure, 30, failed a drug test after taking one of his wife's slimming pills, which contained a banned substance, to help control his weight.
He insisted: "I have gained a lot of strength from this hard time and I just need to focus on the future. It is really important to get back to what I love to do � which is football.
"People know I am not someone to try and cheat. I was really unlucky but all the people at the club and in Ivory Coast gave me a lot of support � and the most important thing is now I am back."
Owen Hargreaves is also set to play after joining City as a free agent following his release by Manchester United.
It will be three years to the day since the injury-ravaged midfielder last completed 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. City boss Roberto Mancini said: "I think we need to recover and rest some players. I will change seven or eight but we want to go through to the next round."
City have splashed millions since their FA Cup win, while Birmingham have been in freefall following their Wembley success.
But Mancini still complained his squad is not good enough. Brum chief Chris Hughton said: "It can bring its own problems when you have that massive squad, so expensively assembled. "It means every competition, you are expected to win it. It brings its own pressures. We have different pressures."
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