Man City were handed a potential hammer blow as far as their ambitions this season are concerned as star centre-back Aymeric Laporte limped out of Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid.
Laporte was forced off midway through the first-half of the last-16 first-leg meeting at the Bernabeu, and had to be replaced by Fernandinho.
The Frenchman has only recently returned to the fold, having been out with a serious knee injury since August.
His absence was seen as a key factor in City’s failure to mount a serious challenge to Liverpool in defence of their Premier League title. With John Stones also struggling for form and fitness, and captain Vincent Kompany having left in the summer, Pep Guardiola was often forced to use Fernandinho and fellow midfielder Rodri as makeshift centre-backs.
Laporte must surely now be a major doubt for Sunday’s EFL Cup final meeting with Aston Villa as Guardiola’s men look for a third straight win in the competition.
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