Manchester City ace Carlos Tevez will not be punished for late-night tennis antics

Carlos has escaped a ticking off for his late-night tennis match with pal Juan del Potro - while Mark Hughes was in bed.

Tevez delighted fans at London's O2 when he had an impromptu knock-about before midnight with his fellow Argentinian at the World Series tournament.

Roque Santa Cruz also jetted down to London with Tevez, who has been unable to hold down a regular starting place, to take in the action and Hughes claims they were back in good time for training yesterday.

"A few of the guys went down, including Roque Santa Cruz," said the Manchester City boss.

"They are personal friends with some of the players and wanted to show their support.

"I wasn't watching the tennis - I was in bed.

"But it's OK. I'd have been more concerned if it had been a nightclub. Carlos wasn't breaking any curfew and got a flight back to Manchester that night and was in bed in good time.

"He was back in for training as normal the following morning so there are no problems."

Hughes also praised defender Micah Richardís reaction to being dropped and insisted he does not want to sell him in January.

Hughes has had his differences with Richards, but claims he is knuckling down in training.

"He's trained really well this week and shown the right reaction," he said.

"He's been good. This can happen with young players and people forget how young he is.

"He may be experienced in terms of games at the highest level, but as a guy he's still a young man.

"Sometimes when you make an impact like he did then there will always be a point when you come down and have to regroup.

"He's still part of my plans, very much so. He's not going anywhere."