Man City could reportedly face being without influential defensive ace Aymeric Laporte for their clash with Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The 25-year-old’s campaign has been blighted by injury woes as he has been limited to just eight appearances across all competitions.
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Having limped off in the 32nd minute against Real Madrid in the first leg of City’s Champions League round-of-16 tie, it has raised doubts over his availability this weekend as Pep Guardiola’s men go in search of their first piece of silverware this season.
As noted by Sky Sports, Laporte looked dejected as he made his way off the pitch which suggests that he may know the severity of the problem and it could sideline him again.
Further, Guardiola’s quotes after the game will do little to ease the fears of Man City fans either it seems as he suggested that he is confident others will step in and ensure his side advance to the next round of the Champions League, with the second leg not until March 17.
“He’s injured and it’s a problem of being out injured for four or five months and then coming back still mending,” Guardiola said, as per the report above. “It’s a pity because we dream to be with him until the end but unfortunately we have suffered a lot this season in this department.
“But I am sure with John (Stones), Eric (Garcia), Nick (Otamendi) and Fernandinho we’ll go through.”
Further tests will no doubt be carried out on Thursday and it remains to be seen if Laporte is involved in training over the next 48 hours as that will ultimately provide us with the clearest indication as to whether he’ll be absent on Sunday.
The initial signs and hints certainly don’t look promising from a Man City perspective though, and given his influence and important in marshalling their backline when healthy, it really is a major blow for the reigning Premier League champions if he is indeed set for a fresh spell on the sidelines.
Sad to leave the team a bit early but most important is the result tonight !!
Proud of the boys ? #CitySpirit ? pic.twitter.com/z0p05e1tVW— Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) February 27, 2020