Manchester City: Antoine Semenyo ruled out for up to eight weeks, Erling Haaland available for AEK Athens test

Antoine Semenyo will be out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury, Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

Semenyo was injured in the closing stages of City’s 3-2 Premier League victory over Ipswich Town, a result that secured their seventh consecutive league win this season.

Maresca said Erling Haaland could feature against Greek side AEK Athens, despite the striker suffering a knock after scoring twice against Ipswich.

“The rest of the players are largely in good condition, and the only player who will be absent for a long period is Semenyo,” Maresca said at his pre-match news conference.

“Semenyo will be out for up to eight weeks. At first, we expected the injury to be worse, so we were more concerned. But after the tests he had yesterday, we felt more relieved because the injury is not as serious as we had feared.

“He could be out for eight weeks. The most important thing for him now is to recover. When he returns in December, he will be like a new player in terms of energy.”

Haaland’s condition will be assessed after the team’s training session, although Maresca said the Norway international had felt better on Monday.

“Haaland can play, and we will see,” he added. “We have a training session today, and there are still some doubts about the players’ condition after Sunday’s match.

“He was in good shape yesterday and felt better, so we will see what happens today.”

Asked whether Haaland might be rested, Maresca said: “It is always difficult to replace Erling. We have different options and will see tomorrow, depending on the plan for the match. There is also a possibility that he will be available to play.”

Maresca had previously warned that Haaland would need to be rested during the coming weeks. Ryan Cherki was left on the bench for the victory over Ipswich.

Semenyo had been considered as an option to play as a central striker, allowing Haaland to be given a break. His injury means the coaching staff must now find alternative solutions in attack.

Maresca said: “Losing Antoine, or any other player, is not good for us. We talked about the possibility of using him as the number nine, but we have different players through whom we can try other solutions.”

Phil Foden returned to the number 10 position against Ipswich and opened the scoring on his first appearance since completing a suspension. He had been sent off against Manchester United in last month’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Ipswich equalised two minutes later, in the 21st minute, through winger Daizen Maeda, who finished after receiving a quick through ball from Dango Ouattara.

City’s 3-2 win moved them three points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, but the condition of five injured players presents Maresca with a difficult selection challenge before the European meeting with AEK Athens.