Haaland, Semenyo and Nunes among five City injury concerns after nervy Ipswich win

Manchester City survived a dramatic late Ipswich Town fightback to win 3-2 at the Etihad on Saturday, stretching their Premier League record to seven wins from seven, but Enzo Maresca emerged from the game with five injury concerns across his squad.

Erling Haaland was the standout performer, heading City in front before half-time and adding a second with just over 20 minutes remaining. A third goal was disallowed by VAR for offside, and Ipswich capitalised almost immediately, winning a penalty — confirmed on review — that Zian Flemming converted to make it 3-2. Twelve minutes of added time followed before City held on.

The victory was overshadowed by the sight of Haaland limping down the tunnel shortly before the final whistle after appearing to hurt his foot. Maresca offered cautious reassurance after the game. “I asked him and he said he was okay, so hopefully it is nothing serious. We will see. I don’t have any news at the moment. Erling said he was okay.” The Norwegian is tentatively pencilled in to return for the Champions League fixture against AEK Athens on October 20.

Substitute Antoine Semenyo, who came on in the 77th minute for Jeremy Doku, limped off at the final whistle with a leg complaint. Maresca admitted uncertainty over the winger’s availability, saying: “The only one we need to wait on is Antoine.” No return date has been set.

Matheus Nunes, restored to the starting XI following a strong midweek display against Paris Saint-Germain, was forced off in the second half after appearing to clutch his groin. Like Haaland, he is provisionally targeting the AEK Athens match as a return date.

Midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who had a hand in Haaland’s opener, went to ground at the start of the second half and was substituted as a precaution. He remained on the bench rather than heading down the tunnel, and Maresca reported that “Kova said he was okay,” with the Croatian also potentially available against AEK Athens.

Young midfielder Nico O’Reilly was withdrawn on the hour mark with a back problem. His substitution had not initially appeared injury-related, but Maresca confirmed in his post-match press conference that O’Reilly had been struggling. His return date also remains unclear.

Phil Foden had opened the scoring on 19 minutes, converting a cross from Jeremy Doku to end his own goal drought, before Daizen Maeda levelled for Ipswich shortly afterwards. City will hope the injury news improves ahead of a busy run of fixtures in both the Premier League and Champions League.