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Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed a major injury blow regarding attacker Antoine Semenyo.
The Ghana international began as a substitute for City’s 3-2 Premier League victory at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday, as Maresca opted to rest a few key players and freshen up his team amid their busy fixture schedule.
Semenyo eventually came off the bench in the 77th minute, but he was seen is discomfort towards the end of the match, hobbling around as the Citizens saw out 12 minutes of additional time to hold on for maximum points.
Ahead of Man City’s Champions League encounter with AEK Athens at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, Maresca has confirmed that Semenyo will be ruled out for around eight weeks with a knee injury.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Maresca said: “The only one that will be out for probably eight weeks is Antoine.
“In the first moment we expected an even worse injury, so we were more worried. After yesterday’s scan we feel much better because it’s not so big like we expected.
“It could be eight weeks. Now in this moment the most important thing for him is his recovery. When he is back around December, it will be like a new player in terms of energy.”
Semenyo’s latest setback comes after he recently recovered from a ‘swollen leg’ that forced him to withdraw from international duty with Ghana during the September/October break.
The versatile attack is now likely to miss at least 13 Man City games across three different competitions, should he be sidelined for eight weeks as expected.
Semenyo will miss City’s clash with AEK Athens on Tuesday and is set to be unavailable for City’s following three League Phase fixtures in the Champions League against RB Leipzig, Napoli and Barcelona.
A return against Barcelona at Camp Nou on December 8 cannot be entirely ruled out, but only if Semenyo manages to recovered a week earlier than anticipated.
Man City’s No.42 is also in line to miss the next eight Premier League fixtures for the current leaders, starting with Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
Maresca’s side conclude October with a home clash against in-form Brighton & Hove Albion, a few days after they welcome the Seagulls to the Etihad for an EFL Cup fourth-round contest.
In November, Man City will face Nottingham Forest, Fulham and reigning Premier League champions Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, before testing their mettle against Leeds United, Brentford, Chelsea and Hull City up until December 19.
Semenyo had made a fairly positive start to the 2026-27 season at Man City, with his standout performance coming against Sunderland last month when he scored twice and provided an assist in an eventful 5-3 home win for the Citizens.
In his absence, Jeremy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye are the most likely candidates to operate on the flanks for Man City, with the former two starting out wide against Ipswich last time out.
Playmakers Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden, as well as academy starlet Ryan McAidoo and forgotten man Rayan Ait-Nouri, could also be tasked with playing out wide if needed.