The Man City matches Antoine Semenyo will miss as Enzo Maresca confirms severity of his injury
With games coming thick and fast at this time of the season, injuries are the last thing any manager wants. However, in bad news for Manchester City fans, one of their key attackers is set for a spell on the sidelines.
Speaking in his press ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash with AEK Athens at the Etihad, head coach Enzo Maresca revealed the severity of Antoine Semenyo's injury:
After the scan we feel much better because it's not as bad as we expected. It could be 8 weeks. Now in this moment the most important thing for him is his recovery. When he is back around December it will be like a new player in terms of energy.Enzo Maresca on Antoine Semenyo
The 26 year old replaced Jérémy Doku with 13 minutes remaining of Saturday's win over Ipswich Town, but sustained a knee injury soon after, which will now see him sidelined for two months. Semenyo had started all nine matches prior to the weekend this season, setting the EFL Cup aside, scoring a brace against Sunderland, very quickly making himself a key figure for Maresca.
In fact, since arriving from Bournemouth in January, he has accumulated 13 goals and six assists in 37 appearances for the Sky Blues, most notably bagging the winner in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
Thus, even though the Citizens also obviously have Doku, Foden, Iliman Ndiaye, Rayan Cherki, Allan and others in their star-studded squad, losing Semenyo is clearly a blow. So, assuming the eight week timeline is accurate, which matches is he poised to miss?
Manchester City fixtures Antoine Semenyo is likely to miss:
Tuesday 20 October: AEK Athens (H) - Champions League. Kick off 8pm.
Saturday 24 October: Aston Villa (A) - Premier League. Kick off 12:30pm.
Wednesday 28 October: Brighton & Hove Albion (H) - EFL Cup. Kick off 7:30pm.
Saturday 31 October: Brighton & Hove Albion (H) - Premier League. Kick off 3pm.
Wednesday 4 November: RB Leipzig (A) - Champions League. Kick off 8pm.
Saturday 7 November: Nottingham Forest (A) - Premier League. Kick off 5:30pm.
Saturday 21 November: Fulham (H) - Premier League. Kick off 12:30pm.
Tuesday 24 November: Napoli (H) - Champions League. Kick off 8pm.
Sunday 29 November: Arsenal (A) - Premier League. Kick off 4:30pm.
2/3 December: Leeds United (H) - Premier League. Kick off TBC.
Saturday 5 December: Brentford (A) - Premier League. Kick off TBC.
Tuesday 8 December: Barcelona (A) - Champions League. Kick off 8pm.
12/13 December: Chelsea (H) - Premier League. Kick off TBC.
First thing to note it that, Manchester City play a lot of games in the next eight weeks, 13 to be exact, despite an international break in November. Semenyo will miss Ghana's double header for Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Somalia during this period too.
Back at club level, there are four Champions League ties during this time frame, most notably the clash at Camp Nou with current competition favourites Barcelona. There are also plenty of tricky Premier League fixtures, including away games at Villa Park, the City Ground and the Gtech, a Haloween date with free-scoring Brighton, as well as next month's visit to champions Arsenal.
Maresca's side may have won seven out of seven in the league so far, but their chances of maintaining that streak have decreased following this latest injury news.
