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Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca has played down fears of a serious injury to Erling Haaland after the striker limped straight down the tunnel following Saturday's 3-2 Premier League victory over Ipswich Town.
The 26-year-old scored once in each half after Phil Foden's opener to preserve City's unblemished start to the domestic campaign and move them six points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Haaland's brace also saw him become the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 100 non-penalty goals by hitting the milestone in just 139 appearances.
However, celebrations at the Etihad Stadium were dampened at the final whistle when the Norwegian forward appeared to hurt his foot after kicking the underside of Jack Clarke's boot in the closing stages.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Maresca revealed that Haaland personally reassured him that the late knock was nothing serious.
"I don't know," said the Man City boss via Sky Sports News. I asked him; he said he was ok. Nothing serious."
The Italian tactician was left sweating over separate fitness issues within a frantic 10-minute spell as Antoine Semenyo also hobbled down the tunnel at full-time.
"The only one we need to wait a little bit is Antoine, so we will see," Maresca said
Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes were both withdrawn during the second half alongside left-back Nico O'Reilly.
While Kovacic and Nunes indicated they had avoided major damage, Maresca confirmed that O'Reilly is still struggling with a recurring back complaint and admitted the medical staff must wait to determine the full extent of Semenyo's injury.
The mounting injury list arrives at a crucial juncture for City ahead of a gruelling sequence of six matches in three weeks before the November international break.
Maresca's side host AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, a fixture in which Haaland was already under consideration for a rest following a heavy workload for club and country.
City must then navigate a testing Premier League trip to Aston Villa on October 24 before welcoming high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion twice in four days across the EFL Cup fourth round and the top flight.
A home European clash against RB Leipzig on November 4 and a league trip to Nottingham Forest three days later will round off the demanding run.