Manchester City Suffer Major Blow with Semenyo Out Until December, Haaland a Doubt

Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo, a key figure in Enzo Maresca's squad, is set to be sidelined for around eight weeks. The Italian manager confirmed the news during his press conference ahead of tomorrow's Champions League fixture against AEK. Prolific striker Erling Haaland also picked up a knock after the clash with Ipswich, though he remains in contention to feature tomorrow.

"Erling might be available. We'll see. We have some doubts. It's difficult to replace Erling, but we have options. There is still a chance he could be involved. Semenyo will be out for about eight weeks. We initially feared a worse injury, but after yesterday's assessment, we feel more at ease. Recovery will take eight weeks, so when he returns in December, he'll be like a new signing. It's not a muscle issue. Losing Antoine is a blow. As for Erling, we mentioned before that we could use Antoine as a number nine, but we have other options we can test. We'll see. For now, we're relying on Erling and don't need to look elsewhere. Phil Foden is certainly one of the solutions. He has played there in the past. Right now, though, our number nine is Erling."

"Tomorrow's match is huge for us. Unfortunately, we lost our previous Champions League game, so we need to get the win."

"We have to manage the workload carefully, which is why we'll make a few changes tomorrow. We aim to keep the players in optimal physical condition. However, some things are out of our control—such as Antoine's situation. He was one of the players we intended to rest; he came on for 10–15 minutes and unfortunately suffered an injury. We also have to be mindful of the players who featured at the World Cup."

"This is the Champions League—a different competition, but the ambition remains identical: to go out and win matches. I don't believe one result will alter our game plan or our long-term vision. The goal is always to win. Following the defeat against PSG, we need to pick up points, which is why tomorrow's game is so important for us."