Manchester City suffer first injury concern of FIFA Club World Cup and 2025/26 season | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City’s first injury concern of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup campaign and the 2025/26 season.

The Premier League giants secured their place in the last-16 of the newly-expanded global tournament on Sunday night courtesy of a dominant victory over United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was once again a fast start for Pep Guardiola’s side as Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead inside 10 minutes with a sumptuous lobbed effort from a loose ball at a corner, before Claudio Echeverri would double the advantage before half-time with a direct free-kick from distance.

The opening 45 minutes would close with an Erling Haaland penalty, while the second-half brought about another goal from Gundogan, a strike from Oscar Bobb, and a first Manchester City goal for Rayan Cherki.

But while many Manchester City fans would have been wanting to see more from Echeverri in particular after his stellar free-kick in the first-half, the highly-rated playmaker was forced off at the break and replaced by Phil Foden for the second-half.

Speaking after Manchester City’s dominant 6-0 win over UAE-based outfit Al Ain on Sunday night, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed the nature of an injury sustained by the impressive goalscorer, Echeverri in Atlanta.

Having scored his first goal for the club via an outstanding direct free-kick just outside of the Al Ain penalty area, Echeverri was withdrawn due to what has been described by his manager as a “twist” in his ankle that was “a little bit sore” and a “problem”.

Continuing to reporters after the contest at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Manchester City manager said of the Argentine talent, “That’s why he could not continue, but he’s an incredible player, a big, big talent in small spaces, and I’m happy for him!”

For now, it remains to be seen just how serious the problem is for Manchester City’s Argentinean sensation, and whether he can recover in time to be considered for a place in Thursday night’s all-important meeting with Italian giants Juventus.

Having missed out on an extra goal against Al Ain that would have permitted a draw against Juventus to secure top spot in the group, Manchester City now know they simply must beat Igor Tudor’s side to take on second-place out of Real Madrid, RB Salzburg, and Al-Hilal.

Pep Guardiola – having made 11 changes against Al Ain from the side that beat Wydad AC on matchday one – has already insisted that he will not be making similar wholesale alterations to the side that takes on the Old Lady on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.