Manchester City will be without Antoine Semenyo until December after the head coach confirmed the winger suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s win over Ipswich Town, with Enzo Maresca revealing the club initially feared worse.
City head coach Maresca has confirmed that Antoine Semenyo is facing around two months on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury during the Premier League victory over Ipswich Town at the weekend.
The Ghana international was substituted on late in the match and was seen limping as he left the pitch, immediately raising concern among City’s coaching staff given his importance to the side’s attacking rotation this season.
Maresca: scan brought relief after early fears
Speaking to reporters, Maresca gave a detailed update on the issue, explaining that the club’s initial assessment painted a more alarming picture than a subsequent scan confirmed.
“Antoine Semenyo is expected to be ruled out for probably eight weeks due to injury,” Maresca said.
“In the first moment, we expected an even worse injury. We were more worried. But after yesterday’s scan, we feel much better because it’s not so big like we expected.
“It could be eight weeks, so now in this moment the most important thing for him is to recover and when he’s back, around December, we have a new player in terms of energy!”
The timeline suggests Semenyo could be back in contention towards the end of the year, though City will be cautious not to rush him back given the scare in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
Semenyo was far from the only player to cause concern against Ipswich. City were left counting the cost of a hard-fought win, with the squad also managing fitness issues involving other first-team players in the same match.
Champions League turnaround offers little time to regroup
The injury news comes at an awkward moment for Maresca and his squad, who have precious little time to dwell on it.
City return to Champions League action on Tuesday against AEK Athens, just a week on from a 4-2 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the competition.
Losing Semenyo for the visit of AEK, and for a string of fixtures beyond it, represents a notable blow to Maresca’s attacking options.
The winger has been a regular feature of City’s forward line this season and had quickly established himself as a dependable outlet on the flank, making his effectively extended absence a real test of the squad’s depth heading into a demanding run of matches across multiple competitions.
For Maresca, who has already had to navigate a heavy block of fixtures since taking charge at the Etihad, the timing is far from ideal. The head coach will now have to rework his forward options for Tuesday’s European tie and the weeks that follow, while managing the recovery of other players nursing knocks from the Ipswich game.
City will be keen to use the coming weeks to manage the situation sensibly, with the club’s medical staff expected to monitor Semenyo’s progress closely before any decision is made on a return date.
