Enzo Maresca has moved to ease injury concerns over Erling Haaland after Manchester City's 3-1 Premier League victory over Ipswich on Saturday. The striker was seen limping heavily as he left the pitch and headed down the tunnel immediately after the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium, having played the full 90 minutes and scored twice. That took his season tally to 12 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions.
Haaland's injury and Maresca's reassurances
Haaland is believed to have taken a knock to his foot late in the game, while some speculated he might be carrying a knee problem. However, Maresca later revealed that Haaland himself had told him he was fine. The manager received similar reassurances from Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic, both of whom were forced off in the second half.
England left-back Nico O'Reilly, however, is still struggling with a back issue after being substituted just past the hour mark. There is also a nervous wait to determine the extent of an injury sustained by Antoine Semenyo, who was spotted limping after coming off the bench against Ipswich.
Maresca's update on the injured quintet
“I asked all of them,” Maresca said in his post-match press conference. “Mateo said he was okay, Matheus said he was okay, Erling said he was also okay. Nico, it's still his back. If you remember against Coventry in the warm-up [when he withdrew from the team], it's the same problem. The only one we need to wait on was Antoine and we will see.”
Before the match, Maresca had admitted that Haaland was among several key City players due a rest after a heavy workload for club and country this season, having also picked up a knock while playing for Norway in the Nations League earlier this month. That rest now seems likely to come when AEK Athens visit the Etihad in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with City then travelling to Aston Villa next weekend before a double-header against Brighton in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
Changes made for the Ipswich match
Maresca made several changes to his lineup for the visit of newly-promoted Ipswich, following the dramatic 4-2 home defeat by Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki and Semenyo were all named on the bench.
