The latest Man City injury news ahead of Saturday’s Premier League rematch with Brighton is kinder than it first looked: two of Enzo Maresca’s three concerns could be available at the Etihad, and only one is facing a long spell out.
City needed penalties to get past the Seagulls in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night. They twice fell behind to goals from Malick Yalcouye and Georginio Rutter, and twice hit back through Mateo Kovacic and Vitor Reis.
Kovacic then had his spot kick saved by Jason Steele, before Geronimo Rulli answered with a save of his own. Rayan Cherki scored City’s fifth penalty and Rulli finished the job by denying Lewis Dunk, as covered in our Man City vs Brighton shootout report. League One Bradford now come to the Etihad in the quarter-finals.
Man City injury news: the rested five return
Maresca left out Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma for the cup tie, and none of them were injured. All five were handed a three-day break after the defeat at Aston Villa, and they should be back when Brighton return to the Etihad on Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.
The goalkeeping call has already been made, with Maresca confirming that Donnarumma will start ahead of Rulli in the league. That leaves three genuine injury concerns, and they are very different cases.
Iliman Ndiaye: cramp, not a crisis
Injury: Cramp. Potential return date: October 31 vs Brighton.
Ndiaye was one of City’s better players in the first half at Villa Park, and he set up Haaland for the equaliser. He was replaced towards the end of the game, though, clutching his leg as he left the pitch.
Maresca played down the worry after the game, explaining that it was cramp. Ndiaye made the bench against Brighton on Wednesday, but he was an unused substitute, which points to him being ready for the weekend.
Will Matheus Nunes be fit for Man City vs Brighton?
Injury: Groin. Potential return date: October 31 vs Brighton.
This one is less clear. At Villa Park, Maresca said Matheus Nunes could be back in the squad for Wednesday night. He wasn’t, and that raises questions about how close the full-back really is.
Maresca could shed more light on it at his press conference on Friday. You can see how the picture looked a few days ago in our Man City injury news after the Aston Villa defeat.
Antoine Semenyo out until December
Injury: Leg. Potential return date: December.
Semenyo remains the biggest worry for Maresca and City by some distance. The head coach confirmed last week that the forward will be sidelined until December, although the scan was kinder than the club first feared.
Maresca said: “In the first moment we expect an even worse injury, so we were more worried but after the scan we are less worried. It could be eight weeks.”
He added: “Now the most important thing is to recover it. When he is back, around December, we have a new player. It’s not muscular.”
Is the Man City injury news good enough to beat Brighton?
I think it is. Getting Haaland, Dias, Gvardiol, Anderson and Donnarumma back after a proper rest matters far more than anything on this list. Ndiaye’s cramp looks like nothing, and Nunes is a doubt at full-back rather than a crisis.
Semenyo is the real loss, but eight weeks is a lot better than the worst case Maresca was bracing for. The rotation on Wednesday got City into the last eight and kept the big names fresh, which is exactly what Maresca wanted from the week. Now the Blues need to turn that into three points on Saturday.
