Manchester City star Nico Gonzalez suffered an injury blow just 20 minutes into his debut for the club, with Pep Guardiola forced to withdraw the £50m man during the first half of the FA Cup game against Leyton Orient. The Spaniard completed a last-gasp move from Porto as part of a winter spending spree for City, who are looking to make up for the absence of long-term injury victim Rodri. He was thrown straight in to the starting line-up against Orient, but felt discomfort in his back and couldn't continue.
City were already trailing at the time, though they would grind out an eventual 2-1 win. Gonzalez was involved in a clash with Orient's Sonny Perkins in the lead-up to the goal, though no free-kick was awarded, and Jamie Donley's long-range effort hit the bar before going in off the back of visiting keeper Stefan Ortega. Gonzalez was one of three new signings added to Guardiola's Champions League squad, and the manager will hope the injury isn't too serious. Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov will also be available in Europe after joining in January, though there's no place in the squad for fellow new boy Vitor Reis.
One-time Barcelona star Gonzalez was part of a much-changed squad for City, before making way for Bernardo Silva. Top scorer Erling Haaland was given a rest, while youngsters Nico O'Reilly and James McAtee were brought into the starting line-up. "This is a shame. Nico Gonzalez was brought in to add a bit of a clout in that Manchester City midfield," pundit Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It will be interesting to see how they will set up now and whether Bernardo Silva is going to be that deep-lying playmaker".
City eventually came from behind to win, with Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne getting the goals, but now face a wait on Gonzalez as they prepare to take on Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League play-off on Tuesday. Madrid go into the game with injury absentees of their own, with Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal among those sidelined. How worried should City be by Nico Gonzalez's injury? Have your say in the comments section.
While Gonzalez's immediate task is to make up for the absence of Rodri, Guardiola suggested the pair should have no trouble slotting into the same midfield. Hr is one of a number of younger players to arrive in January and February, and the boss is looking long-term. “Every season [Porto] play in Europe," Guardiola said."We follow him for a long, long time. When he was at the [Barcelona] academy, we tried to bring him here but it was not possible. All the players are so young so can be here for the next six or seven years. That’s nice for the club.
“Both [Rodri and Gonzalez] have good pace to go forward and Nico has played as a 10 - they can arrive to the box. His physicality, he’s tall and his pace, he’s a player that comes from the academy, his patterns and his body shape, control and reading of the game are already there. “He has to adapt to the Premier League. I don’t know how long it takes. Sometimes it takes more, sometimes less. He’s a player for the next many, many years.
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