Enzo Maresca said he hopes Erling Haaland did not suffer a serious injury after the striker hobbled off in Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Ipswich but was reassured by his top scorer telling him he was fine.
Haaland was hurt in a challenge with Jack Clarke, seeming to catch the Ipswich substitute after kicking the ball in injury time.
The Norwegian had scored twice, to take his tally to 12 goals in eight games, and while Maresca is waiting for a fuller assessment, he said: “I asked him and he said he was okay so hopefully it is nothing serious.”
City had a series of injury concerns in the second half, when Mateus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly came off, while the substitute Antoine Semenyo also looked to be struggling at the final whistle.
Maresca is concerned about the winger, who has been ever-present as City have won their first seven league games.
He said: “I asked all of them. Mateus and Kova said they were okay, Erling also said he was okay and Nico is still [an issue with] his back if you remember against Coventry. It's still the same problem. The only one we need to wait on is Antoine.”
Maresca became the first manager in Premier League history to win each of his first seven top-flight games in charge of a club.
And he said: “First of all, [I am] very happy. It's a matter of winning games in this business. We were able to win seven games in a row. I understand that we give credit to the players.”
City host AEK Athens in the Champions League on Thursday before travelling to Aston Villa next weekend, where they will attempt to continue their 100 per cent start.
City also play a double-header against high-flying Brighton before the end of October, hosting the Seagulls twice in a week in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
Maresca had warned that he will need to rest Haaland over the coming weeks, and left Rayan Cherki on the bench throughout the match against Ipswich.
Haaland has already racked up 14 starts for club and country this season after playing four times for Norway in the international break.
“At some point we probably need to give him rest, some days off,” Maresca said in his pre-match press conference before facing Ipswich.
The 3-2 win over Ipswich was City’s second successive league victory since the club were found guilty of serious breaches of the competition’s financial regulations last month.
It also maintained Maresca’s perfect start to the campaign and lifted them six points clear of champions Arsenal at the top of the table.
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