Manchester City defeated Ipswich Town 3-2 on Saturday, but the game was more difficult than it should have been. A win is a win, though, but the major concern isn't how close the game was; it's all the injuries near the end. One of those was to Erling Haaland.
After scoring two goals and trying to have a chance at a third, Maresca was slightly tangled up with an Ipswich player, and the City striker was hobbled. What wasn't clear was whether the Norwegian had his foot stepped on or some far worse kind of injury.
What was clear was that as the final whistle blew, Haaland was trying to make his way quickly off the pitch and into the tunnel, but he wasn't able to run while doing so. Instead, he limped off the pitch, and City fans everywhere likely instantly forgot the match had just been won.
Erling Haaland's injury might overshadow Manchester City's victory against Ipswich Town
Exactly what happened with Haaland and how injured he is wasn't readily known. Manager Enzo Maresca was asked about the situation in his post-match press conference, but he first said that he didn't really have any information, and later said Haaland told him that the striker was "OK."
Of course, Haaland isn't a doctor, and neither is Maresca, so what any examination provides might be more telling. Perhaps Haaland just had some kind of cramp, but that didn't appear to be the case. If the Norwegian says he is fine, then hopefully he is.
The next Manchester City match is only days away, as the club takes on AEK Athens in a Champions League match on Tuesday. That match will provide evidence of whether Haaland has an injury that needs to be a concern.
He wasn't the only City player to be injured. Antoine Semenyo appeared to have a hamstring issue and couldn't run at full speed in the limited time he played at the end. He didn't start the game, but that was likely to have him rested for future matches. Maresca said that "the only one we need to wait a little bit (for) is Antoine, and we will see."
Other players who were dealing with some unknown kind of new issues included Matheus Nunes, Nico O’Reilly, and Mateo Kovacic. Thankfully, Man City has a deep roster and can compete even if they lose key players, but that belief is likely going to be tested very soon, as the club has four more matches before the end of October.
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