United in August 2007. He returned to full training on 22 January 2008, scoring five goals in a bounce game. On 11 February 2008, Bojinov played in a Manchester City reserve game, where he came on as a substitute and scored a header from a cross by Émile Mpenza. Manchester City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson told Bojinov that he would not be ready to play in the game against Everton on 25 February 2008. He did not manage to make a comeback to the first-team squad in the 2007–08 season, but he did make some appearances for the reserve squad and was included in City's tour of Asia. Bojinov scored his first goal for the club in over a year in a pre-season friendly against Stockport County. He also scored the winning goal in a friendly against Milan on 9 August 2008. On 17 August 2008, Bojinov was ruled out for six months after suffering an Achilles injury as he was running on to the pitch to warm up against Aston Villa. In mid-February 2009, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes declared that Bojinov was going to play a practice match "behind closed doors", as he was nearing his return to first-team football. He played 65 minutes for the reserves on 17 February 2009. He even scored a penalty against rivals Manchester United in a reserve game while regaining match fitness. Bojinov made his return to Premier League football by coming on as an 89th-minute substitute against West Ham on 1 March 2009. He then appeared again as a late substitute for Manchester City by entering as an 83rd-minute substitute for Elano against Aston Villa. Bojinov made his first start since 2007 in a 1–0 home win over Sunderland on 22 March 2009, but was substituted in the 65th minute for the return of injured Craig Bellamy. He scored his first league goal in the 2–1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 May 2009, four minutes after coming on as a substitute for compatriot Martin Petrov in the 61st minute away at White Hart Lane. Parma It was announced on 29 July 2009 that Bojinov would be joining Italian side Parma on a season-long loan deal. He decided to wear number 86. On 23 September 2009 he scored his first official goal for Parma against Lazio at Stadio Olimpico. He also won a penalty for his team; the match ended in a