Manchester City‘s build-up to Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with AEK Athens has been complicated by a string of fitness concerns, with five senior players absent from Monday’s training session at the club’s Etihad Campus.
Erling Haaland, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly all sat out the session, while Antoine Semenyo‘s continued absence was already expected after head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed the winger would be sidelined for roughly two months.
The quartet’s fitness had been in question since City’s 3-2 Premier League win over Ipswich Town at the weekend, a result that extended their unbeaten domestic run, but their withdrawal from training has left Maresca short on certainty less than 24 hours before kick-off.
Semenyo setback confirmed by Maresca
Semenyo picked up a knee injury in the closing stages of the victory over Ipswich and will now miss a lengthy spell of fixtures, including City’s next three Champions League league-phase matches against RB Leipzig, Napoli and Barcelona.
Speaking to reporters at his pre-match news conference, Maresca was direct about the scale of the problem facing his squad, saying: “The only one that will be out for probably eight weeks is Antoine.”
The Ghana international had been enjoying a strong run of form since arriving from Bournemouth, and his absence removes one of Maresca’s more dynamic attacking options at a point in the season when City are also managing the return of continental football alongside a congested Premier League schedule.
Kovacic and Nunes, meanwhile, both came through knocks sustained against Ipswich, while O’Reilly has been nursing a back complaint that first flared up in the warm-up before City’s recent match with Coventry City.
None of the three has been officially ruled out of the AEK Athens fixture, but their absence from Monday’s session will do little to ease nerves among supporters ahead of a game City will be expected to win comfortably.
Haaland doubt adds to selection headache
Perhaps the most eye-catching absentee was Haaland, who had scored twice in the win over Ipswich before appearing to carry a knock in the closing stages.
Maresca had previously suggested the Norwegian forward was feeling better by Monday, though his non-appearance in training suggests City are taking a cautious approach with their main goal threat rather than risking him unnecessarily against lesser continental opposition.
With so much uncertainty around his attacking options, Maresca could be forced into reshuffling his forward line. Phil Foden could potentially be deployed in a more central role and Enzo Fernandez pushed further forward to compensate for the missing bodies.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, who impressed in City’s recent matches, is expected to continue in central midfield given the doubts surrounding both Kovacic and Nunes.
AEK Athens arrive at the Etihad Stadium having had a full week to prepare, with Luka Jovic and Barnabas Varga their main attacking threats so far this season.
The Greek side will hope to take advantage of any disruption to City’s usual rhythm, though Maresca’s squad depth, bolstered by a busy summer of recruitment, still gives the hosts a considerable edge on paper.
