Manchester City suffered an injury blow in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Olympique Marseille, with Ilkay Gundogan picking up an ankle knock that required him to be substituted at halftime. The 30-year-old was replaced by Raheem Sterling and now faces a race to be fit in time for Manchester United on Saturday.
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Pep Guardiola told the Manchester Evening News of Gundogan’s injury: “Ilkay had a knock in his ankle, he was a bit sore in the way he was running. He played 90 minutes against Fulham, so we didn’t want to take a risk, we’ll see tomorrow how he feels.” The German international will be assessed by City’s medical team on Thursday, so news of his injury should be disclosed then.
Gundogan has made 11 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals. The 30-year-old has been a regular in midfield since overcoming the coronavirus at the start of the campaign, so he would be in line to start against United if fit. Guardiola still has Rodri, Fernandinho, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva at his disposal, however, so Gundogan’s absence is manageable.
The Sky Blues are currently seventh in the Premier League with 18 points from 10 games ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby and are coming off the back of wins over Burnley and Fulham. A win could see them move into the top-four.