Antoine Semenyo injury: Man City winger out for around eight weeks with knee problem

Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo is set to miss around eight weeks with a knee injury, Enzo Maresca said on Monday, although scans showed the damage was less serious than the club had first feared.

Semenyo was hurt late in Saturday's 3-2 Premier League win over Ipswich Town at the Etihad, after coming on as a substitute. Erling Haaland, who scored twice in the same game before taking a knock, could still face AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday.

What Maresca said

At his pre-match press conference, Maresca said Semenyo had scans on Sunday, and the results brought some relief.

"The rest are more or less okay. The only one that will be out for probably eight weeks is Antoine," he said. "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."

He added: "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."

Haaland and the rest of the squad

Haaland was among five City players with fitness concerns after the Ipswich game, along with Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovačić, Nico O'Reilly and Semenyo. Maresca said the Norway striker "can be available" against AEK and will be assessed in training.

"He was quite good yesterday. Better. So we'll see today," Maresca said. "Replacing Erling is always difficult. We have some different options and we'll see tomorrow."

Semenyo had been seen as an option at centre-forward when Haaland needs a rest. "In terms of Erling, we said we can use Antoine as a nine but we have different players that we are going to try to find a new solution," Maresca said. "At the moment it's Erling. Why do we need to think about a different nine when Erling is there?"

What it means for City

The setback comes during a perfect league start under Maresca: Saturday's win was City's seventh in seven Premier League games and moved them six points clear at the top, a run that included the 3-0 win at Liverpool earlier this month.

Semenyo, who joined from Bournemouth in January, scored twice in the 5-3 win over Sunderland in September.

City host AEK Athens at the Etihad on Tuesday (20:00 UK) in their third League Phase match, after losing their last Champions League game 4-2 at home to Paris Saint-Germain.

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