Nico González, brought in to fill Rodri’s absence, couldn’t play more than 22 minutes on his debut.
Manchester City’s streak of bad luck continues. With Rodri sidelined due to a long-term injury, City recently signed González to fill the gap, but the Spanish midfielder suffered an injury in his very first match.
After last week’s crushing 5-1 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League, City found themselves in trouble again in the FA Cup on Saturday. They fell behind early to third-tier side Leyton Orient after an own goal from goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
However, second-half goals from new signing, Uzbek defender Abdukhodir Kuzanov, and experienced midfielder Kevin De Bruyne secured City’s victory and a place in the fourth round.
Shortly after the own goal, González—who recently joined from Porto for €60 million—took a hard fall after a challenge and suffered a rib injury.
City boss Pep Guardiola was unable to provide a clear update on the severity of the injury after the match.
“I don’t know how serious the injury is, but he was in no condition to continue,” Guardiola said.
City have already fallen far behind in the title race, sitting fifth in the league, 15 points behind Liverpool, who have played one game fewer. They are out of the League Cup and barely made it to the Champions League Round of 16 playoffs.
In an effort to turn things around in the second half of the season, City spent €210 million in the January transfer window to sign five players, including González. Now, they might have to cope without him as well.
