Manchester City were forced to make two first-half substitutions in their Champions League match with Real Madrid.
Manchester City suffered a tough double injury setback in their 3-2 loss to Real Madrid ahead of Newcastle United’s visit to the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
Pep Guardiola fielded all of his centre-backs in a system he hasn’t used this season, with Manuel Akanji taking on Vinicius Jr after Kyle Walker left for AC Milan in January. England playmaker Jack Grealish was an unusual starter for City on the left in an attempt to control possession against the reigning Champions League champions, but he was forced to go after only 30 minutes after playing a key role in Erling Haaland’s opener.
Meanwhile, just before halftime, when Akanji was being praised by his teammates for stopping Vinicius’ delivery during a threatening attack, the Swiss international was spotted clutching his crotch and collapsing. He made it to the break, limping off while speaking with the referee, but did not return after halftime.
Rico Lewis replaced him as City’s second mandatory substitution, with Akanji now a major question for next week’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. He is also in risk of missing their match against Eddie Howe’s club.
Matheus Nunes, who played right-back in January, returned after missing a week of training but was only able to make the bench. Oscar Bobb is still out with an injury, while Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku have returned due to personal concerns.
Following the game, Pep Guardiola had no news on Grealish or Akanji. Grealish has now put an optimistic take on the situation, stating that he ‘hopes’ the injury is not serious and motivating his teammates for next week’s Champions League quarterfinal play-off second leg against Madrid.
Grealish posted on Instagram, “Hopefully the injury isn’t too terrible, and thank you for your support last night. It’s still all to play for next week.
City will face the Magpies first, though. Newcastle will travel to Manchester on Saturday looking to recover from their Premier League setback to Fulham by 2-1 at home. Since then, the Magpies have reached the Carabao Cup final and the fifth round of the FA Cup after defeating Arsenal and Birmingham City, respectively.
