Man City star suffers knee ligament injury on international duty | OneFootball

Manchester City have received news of a fresh injury blow, with star forward Omar Marmoush forced off on international duty.

The Egyptian attacker was representing his national side in a World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso. However, he went down injured following a strong challenge less than five minutes into the match. After initially attempting to play on, the 26-year-old was forced off the pitch in the tenth minute of the game.

The Egyptian Football Association have since provided an update. They confirmed: “Omar Marmoush suffers a bruised knee ligament. The player will undergo an X-ray upon his arrival to Cairo (on) Wednesday morning.”

Despite the potential for knee ligament injuries to keep players sidelined for months, it is believed that Marmoush’s problem is not that serious.

In his absence, Egypt went on to share the points in a goalless draw, leaving them on the verge of World Cup qualification. They have so far remained undefeated and now need just a single point from their last two matches to secure their place in their fourth-ever World Cup finals.

Marmoush will be a big miss for Pep Guardiola and City. The forward arrived at the Etihad from Eintracht Frankfurt in a £59 million deal back in January. He has since scored eight goals in 28 appearances for the team.

The club’s medical staff will run their own tests on him when he returns to Manchester. However, it is yet to been seen whether he will be fit to start at the weekend.

The injury has arrived at a bad time for Guardiola’s side, who are about to face a tough run of fixtures. Marmoush started in each of the side’s last two Premier League matches – disappointing defeats against both Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton.

Now Guardiola’s side will look to bounce back against rivals Manchester United this Sunday. This is followed by the return of the Champions League in midweek, and a tricky test against Italian champions Napoli. The challenging week is then rounded off with a trip to the Emirates to face title challengers Arsenal.