Manchester City hit by fresh injury blow with star forced to withdraw from international duty
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester City have been dealt another injury setback after Abdukodir Khusanov picked up a problem in the 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. The center-back finished the game at the City Ground but will miss Uzbekistan's upcoming friendlies against Russia and Saudi Arabia.
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The severity of Khusanov's injury remains unclear, but it adds to manager Enzo Maresca's concerns after two additional defenders requested substitutions at Forest. Marc Guéhi and Joško Gvardiol both experienced issues that led to their half-time withdrawals, while Nico O'Reilly has been omitted from the latest England squad after failing to reach full fitness throughout the season.
Guéhi has subsequently withdrawn from the England squad, with Newcastle United's Dan Burn called up in his place. Meanwhile, it's uncertain whether Gvardiol will also pull out of Croatia duty, but Maresca must find stability at the back.
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Elsewhere, Matheus Nunes has also battled injury concerns this campaign, with the team having conceded 17 goals across their last 8 matches, as per the Manchester Evening News.
City suffered their third consecutive Premier League defeat with the loss at Forest - following losses to Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa - to enter the latest international window on a disappointing note.
Jair Cunha opened the scoring for Forest within six minutes, pouncing as Gvardiol was caught on the ball, with Liam Delap doubling their lead shortly after with a thundering run and shot. Rayan Cherki brought City back into the match with a top corner half-volley in the 52nd minute, before Morgan Gibbs-White and Delap combined to put the nail in the coffin via a deadly counter-attack with less than 20 minutes to go.
Maresca acknowledged his team requires recovery time as he attempts to diagnose their slump in form before they resume action against Fulham a week on Saturday.
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Recent setbacks have dropped the Blues to third in the standings, six points behind leaders Arsenal and also trailing surprise contenders Brighton by five points. Maresca will hope to have as many defensive options available as possible when the squad reconvenes late next week before they host Álvaro Arbeloa's Cottagers, who have now gone four league games undefeated.