Semenyo was supposed to give Haaland a rest – now he’s out for a long time

Manchester City will have to do without Antoine Semenyo for the next few weeks. The 26-year-old picked up an injury during the recent 3–2 win over Ipswich Town – even though he was supposed to give Erling Haaland a rest ahead of Tuesday evening’s Champions League match against AEK Athens.

Antoine Semenyo only came on in the 77th minute, but the brief spell on the pitch that the Manchester City winger was given last Saturday in the 3–2 win over Ipswich Town was to prove fateful. In the closing stages, the Ghana international sustained a knee injury and will now be out for around eight weeks, as manager Enzo Maresca announced at a press conference on Monday.

“At first, we feared the injury was even more serious, which is why we were much more concerned,” said Maresca ahead of the Champions League match against AEK Athens. The scan on Sunday then brought a sigh of relief, as Semenyo’s setback “is not as serious as we had feared”, said Maresca.

The 46-year-old had intended to include Semenyo in his starting line-up against AEK to give Erling Haaland a breather. However, that is now unlikely to happen. Haaland scored twice against Ipswich. After seven Premier League matchdays, the Norwegian has already scored eight goals. Following Semenyo’s injury, there are now strong indications that Haaland will also be in the starting line-up against AEK.

Semenyo, on the other hand, will have to watch from the sidelines for the time being and will miss both the upcoming Champions League match at RB Leipzig in early November and the Premier League top-of-the-table clash against Arsenal FC at the end of November. Maresca, however, was already looking ahead and emphasised: “When he’s back in December, he’ll be full of energy – like a new player.”