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Premier League: Man City suffer huge injury blow ahead of Liverpool clash

By Our Reporter On Nov 7, 2019 0

Premier League defending champions Manchester City suffered a huge blow on Wednesday night after shot-stopper Ederson cropped a thigh injury less than 96 hours before their clash with Liverpool.

The Brazilian complained of a muscle strain and was substituted at half-time during their 1-1 Champions League draw at Atalanta.

Goalkeeper Ederson is a doubt for Sunday's Premier League showdown between Liverpool and Manchester City, after a 'muscular problem' forced him to withdraw from the Citizens' Champions League encounter with Atalanta at half-time on Wednesday. The Br.. https://t.co/F8Y0TlGo9F

— ⚽️Footy News (@footynew247) November 7, 2019

Club boss Pep Guardiola would be counting on Claudio Bravo to deputize for Ederson if he fails to prove his fitness.

Bravo – who last started a Premier League game in May 2018 – was embarrassingly sent off but Guardiola insisted the Chilean retains his full faith.

“We have a lot of trust in Claudio,” Guardiola said. “I know him, so why should I have doubts in my players? We have a lot of things we have had to overcome.

“Claudio is ready. He is an incredible professional. He is ready. I don’t know about Ederson right now. It’s a muscular problem, it’s not big. He didn’t feel comfortable the last minutes of the first half.”

Ederson has featured all of City’s Premier League and Champions League matches this campaign.

The Selecao star suffered a similar injury scare back in January this year in a 2-1 defeat by Newcastle, and on that occasion, he did recover in time to face Arsenal in the next game.

Interestingly, Kyle Walker took over goalkeeping duties after Bravo saw red with nine minutes remaining after goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor advised that the England star has the requisite bravery.

“We didn’t think beforehand but Xabi suggested him because of his courage,” Guardiola added. “We were lucky that we just conceded one shot on target. Congratulations to Kyle for his courage and the desire to help the team.”