Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo could miss Black Stars’ AFCON 2027 double header against Somalia on November 11 and 15 after suffering a knee injury thad could sideline him for up to eight weeks.
The Man City forward limped to the tunnel following Saturday’s 3-2 home win over Ipswich Town, shortly after Haaland took a knock on his foot and ankle in stoppage time.
Maresca said Semenyo’s injury was not as bad as first feared but the 26-year-old, who has two goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, needed time to recover.
“It could be eight weeks. Now the most important thing is recovery. When he is back in December it will be like a new player. Collateral. It’s not muscle,” he told a press conference on Monday ahead of the AEK game.
Semenyo was among the substitutes against Ipswich but came off the bench in the 77th minute at the Etihad Stadium.
“We tried to save him, we tried to keep him fresh, just give him some minutes, he didn’t play a lot but sometimes things happen, we cannot control,” added Maresca.
The manager said there were also some doubts about Norwegian Haaland’s fitness for Tuesday, but he remained hopeful.
“He can be available, we will see, we have a session now. We have some doubts after Saturday’s game. He was quite good yesterday, better. So we will see today,” Maresca added.
