Cushing provides Aleixandri fitness update | OneFootball

Nick Cushing says a hamstring issue prevented Laia Aleixandri from playing in City’s 2-1 win over Brighton.

But our interim head coach explained that the Spain international will be available for selection following the international break, including our FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United.

Aleixandri was named in our starting line-up for the Seagulls assignment but was replaced by Laura Wienroither before kick-off after suffering from a problem in the warm-up.

Although it won’t keep her out for a prolonged period, Cushing says the risk of playing the defender against the south coast outfit was too high to take.

"Laia had some hamstring pain and it was just too risky to start her,” he explained.

“We know we've got big games around the corner and I trust the likes of Laura [Wienroither] and Naomi [Layzell] to go into the team.

“We made a decision in the warm-up to take her out.

WATCH: Cushing pays tribute to Layzell and Prior in Brighton triumph

“We fully support that she was feeling pain and it was a bit too risky, it was nothing too major and she'll be back for the Manchester United game."

City recorded a hard-fought victory in East Sussex thanks to goals from Kerstin Casparij and Vivianne Miedema before the hosts pulled a goal back in second-half added time.

The fixture at Broadfield Stadium represented our eighth game in March in all competitions, including four straight clashes with Chelsea.

And Cushing was delighted with the Blues’ professionalism against Brighton after a relentless schedule across the past four weeks.

He added: "After a very tense period, and a hugely competitive period against Chelsea, in the three competitions we played - the three points was the main objective today and I thought we played well in patches.

"I thought we defended well throughout the game. The commitment and the desire to take the three points today was something I'm really proud of."