Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo has been sidelined for up to eight weeks after suffering a knee injury at the weekend, but striker Erling Haaland could be fit for the club’s Champions League clash at home to AEK Athens, manager Enzo Maresca said.
Maresca said on Monday that Semenyo’s injury was not as bad as first feared, but the 26-year-old, who has two goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, needed time to recover.
Ghana international Semenyo limped to the tunnel following Saturday’s 3-2 home win over Ipswich Town, shortly after Haaland took a knock on his foot and ankle in stoppage time.
“It could be eight weeks. Now the most important thing is recovery. When he is back in December, it will be like a new player. Collateral. It’s not muscle,” he told a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s AEK game.
Semenyo was among the substitutes against Ipswich but came off the bench in the 77th minute at the Etihad Stadium.
“We tried to save him, we tried to keep him fresh, just give him some minutes, he didn’t play a lot, but sometimes things happen we cannot control,” added Maresca.
The manager said there were also some doubts about Norwegian Haaland’s fitness for Tuesday, but he remained hopeful.
“He can be available, we will see, we have a session now. We have some doubts after Saturday’s game. He was quite good yesterday, better. So we will see today,” Maresca added.
Haaland’s double against Ipswich helped City remain perfect in the top flight with seven straight wins. The 26-year-old has netted in his last eight appearances for City, scoring 12 times.
“For sure, to replace Erling it is always difficult but we have some different options,” Maresca said.
“Phil [Foden] can be one of the solutions, not the only one … but now, at the moment the number nine is Erling.”
Maresca is eyeing the AEK match as a chance for City to bounce back from last week’s 4-2 loss at home to European champions Paris St Germain, which left City 17th in the table with three points from two matches.
“I think the response after the PSG game was quite good … It’s a Champions League game, different competition, but the ambition has to be the same, try to win games,” he added.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
