Man City ROCKED: Striker struck with knee ligament injury ahead of derby

Manchester City face a significant injury blow ahead of Sunday’s Premier League derby with Manchester United as Pep Guardiola’s side have lost a key figure in attack due to a knee ligament injury.

Erling Haaland might have been busy catching the headlines as he scored five times for Norway as Moldova were crushed 11-1 in Oslo, but it was a distinctly mixed night on the international scene for City’s stars.

Omar Marmoush faces a period on the sidelines after being struck with injury during Egypt’s qualifier against Burkina Faso.

Tackled heavily by Mohamed Zougrana just four minutes into the match, he was forced off after initially trying to continue. The 26-year-old attacker lasted only nine minutes.

Marmoush was able to watch his side grind out a scoreless draw that puts them on the brink of World Cup qualification from the bench, where he sat with his knee well wrapped in a bandage.

Egypt announced their team doctor after the game, claiming that he had suffered from a “contusion to the ligaments” and that he will be X-rayed on Wednesday morning in Cairo in order to learn more about his issue.

While it appears that he has avoided the very worst problem – an ACL rupture – is also seems that there is little prospect of Marmoush featuring in Sunday’s Manchester derby.

Pep must get the answer to Marmoush question right

Manchester City boss Guardiola now faces the question of how to cope without Marmoush, who was signed in January for €75 million from Eintracht Frankfurt. He is the club’s fifth most expensive player of all time.

The forward scored seven times in 16 Premier League matches last season but has yet to get off the mark this term.

City did not significantly strengthen their attacking options this summer, adding only Rayan Cherki to Guardiola’s attacking options.

Having netted only one goal in their last two games, both of which have ended in defeats, Marmoush’s absence for Sunday’s critical fixture will therefore take on additional importance.

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