Mario Balotelli & Roberto Mancini in 'training ground bust-up'

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli appears to have been involved in a training ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini.

A picture agency has released photographs it says were taken on Thursday morning of the pair having to be separated by staff and team-mates at Carrington training ground.

Mancini is expected to answer questions about the incident at his news conference on Friday morning.

"It's believed Mancini reacted to a challenge from Balotelli on one of his team-mates," said BBC radio 5 live senior football reporter Ian Dennis.

"In one of the photos Mancini is seen to be pulling at Balotelli's orange bib, and in another photo Balotelli is being restrained.

"I'm led to believe the incident blew over very quickly and with that in mind the photos do need to be put into some sort of context because super-fast frames can show the spat but don't necessarily provide a true reflection of any time period.

"However, it doesn't reflect well on the champions, it ensures Balotelli will create headlines yet again, and Mancini will be quizzed about his relationship with the player at tomorrow's press conference."

But Mancini has also stated that Balotelli's behaviour on and off the pitch is blown out of proportion , saying "every time Mario does something, [it] is like a war".

This is not the first time the City manager has fallen out with one of his players.

He saw Carlos Tevez return home to Argentina following a row during the 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich in September 2011.

Mancini claimed the striker failed to warm up and insisted Tevez would never play for the club again, while the forward complained of being treated "like a dog".

But the relationship was repaired and the forward returned to action in February 2012 and helped City win the Premier League title.