Manchester City suffered a potentially major injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash against Arsenal which could also have title implications. Pep Guardiola's men were cruising against Aston Villa at half time, but they returned for the second 45 minutes without top scorer Erling Haaland.
First half goals from Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez saw City stroll to victory at Etihad Stadium against Villa with a second half goal from Ollie Watkins merely a consolation. A collision with Emi Martinez seemed to be bothering City's top goal scorer in the first half and subsequently the decision was made to not risk him any further with the hosts comfortably in front.
An early indication of his problem was perhaps highlighted by a late first half penalty instead taken by Mahrez. Julian Alvarez was his replacement and Guardiola gave an update on his condition after the game.
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Speaking to Sky Sports when asked for the early extent of his injury, he said: "I don't know, he had a big knock and he wasn't comfortable. We will see and we will assess in the next days. If he's not ready, we'll play another one. Hopefully he's ready like everyone but we'll see."
Gundogan, who saw his goal set up by Haaland in the first half before he was replaced, was full of praise for their star forward, hoping that he will be available for City against Arsenal.
"We know that Erling scored a lot of goals so far, but today in the first half he made the runs that we need," he said on Sky Sports. "He went into the areas where he can create space for the other players coming from the back, and he played well. Hopefully he is not too injured because we need him."
With concern understandably rife in Manchester over his injury, Haaland has posted a message to his Instagram following City's win over Unai Emery's side. The caption read: "What a team performance! Fans were unreal, thanks for being our 12th man *blue heart emoji* #mancity."
The 22-year-old does not directly address his injury which could potentially hint that his withdrawal was just precautionary. Guardiola described the injury as a "kick to the leg", a similar incident happened to Bukayo Saka in Arsenal's clash with Nottingham Forest although he was then available for the next game which could mean, while Haaland is in immediate discomfort, no lasting damage is prominent.
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