Nico O’Reilly suffered a possible injury blow during Manchester City’s win over Chelsea on Sunday, putting his participation against Arsenal this weekend in doubt.
Nico O’Reilly has come up with some big moments for Manchester City lately, from his goals in the League Cup final against Arsenal to his opener against Chelsea in Sunday’s win.
But the left-back is now a doubt for City’s pivotal Premier League title race clash against Arsenal on Sunday, having come off early in the Chelsea match with an apparent hamstring problem.
The player pulled up around the 64th minute and received medical attention, holding his right hamstring and ultimately leaving the field to be replaced by Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Kieran King reports for the Manchester Evening News that it’s unclear how serious the injury is at this stage, but that it could be a huge concern for City ahead of the Arsenal game.
Analysis of the TV footage suggests the issue is relatively minor, but even a low-grade strain would likely mean a few weeks out.
O’Reilly will be hoping that further assessments of the problem confirm that it was just tightness, in which case he could still return for the Arsenal match this weekend.
Arsenal’s match away to Manchester City is potentially title-turning in importance.
If the Gunners win, they’ll take a nine-point lead over City, which City would only be able to cut to six by winning their game in hand. That would mean City needing to win every other game and hoping Arsenal lose at least two, or draw three, of their final five.
If it’s a draw, that would hand Arsenal a slight three-point advantage (assuming City win their game in hand) for the final five games.
If City win, Arsenal’s advantage would be all but gone, with the Gunners relying on winning every game and racking up the goal difference to keep them ahead if City won their final six matches.
So if there’s any game O’Reilly will want to be available for, it’s this one.
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