Manchester City will be without Antoine Semenyo for around eight weeks after the winger suffered a knee injury, handing Enzo Maresca an unwelcome setback as the Premier League leaders prepare for their Champions League meeting with AEK Athens.The Ghanaian is expected to return around December, with Maresca revealing that the initial fears surrounding the injury were even more serious than the eventual diagnosis."In the first moment we expected an even worse injury, we were more worried, but after yesterday's scan we feel much better," the City boss said.22.00: (1.08) Man.City (11.0) AEK (20.0)"It will be eight weeks, so in this moment the most important thing for him is recovery, and when he is back, probably around December, we have a new player in terms of energy. To lose Antoine, or any player, for us is not good."Semenyo's absence comes at a time when City are flying domestically. They maintained their perfect Premier League start with a 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town on Saturday, making it seven wins from seven. Phil Foden opened the scoring before Erling Haaland struck twice, but the Norwegian's late limp off the pitch raised fresh concerns.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Haaland's availability for Tuesday's European fixture remains uncertain, although Maresca offered some encouragement after the striker showed signs of improvement."He can be available, we'll see, we have a session now. We have some doubts after the game. We'll see, he was quite good yesterday, better, but we'll see today," the manager explained.##LINKED_NEWS_69998##Maresca confirmed that, aside from Semenyo, the rest of the squad were more or less available, including players who had prompted concern after the weekend. But with Haaland not fully fit, the question is whether City will risk their prolific striker in a match they badly want to win.The Italian made it clear that he is not treating the Champions League encounter as an opportunity to rest key players. City lost their previous European match against Paris Saint-Germain and are determined to get back on track."It's a huge game tomorrow for us. It's a Champions League game, unfortunately, we lost the last one, so we need to win games and we are going to try to win the game with our best players at the moment," Maresca said.##LINKED_NEWS_70021##Replacing Haaland would be no simple task, but the manager insists he has alternatives if the striker is unavailable."For sure, to replace Erling is always difficult, but we have some different options and we'll see tomorrow. Depends on the game plan a little bit, but also there is a chance he can be available tomorrow; we'll see.”##LINKED_NEWS_70027##Phil Foden could be one option to lead the line, having played in that role before. Maresca, however, is not rushing to draw up a plan without his first-choice striker."We have different players, so we are going to try and find new solutions. We'll see, at the moment it's Erling, so why do we need to think about a different nine when Erling is there? If something happens and we need a different plan or different nine, we'll see."Phil can be one of the solutions, he's played in the past in that position. But at the moment the number nine is Erling."UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 3Tuesday19.45: (1.70) Fenerbahce (4.20) Slavia Praha (4.50)19.45: (9.00) Sabah (5.90) Dortmund (1.30)22.00: (1.45) Liverpool (4.80) Villareal (6.30)22.00: (1.08) Man.City (11.0) AEK (20.0)22.00: (1.60) Napoli (4.50) Bodo (4.80)22.00: (2.40) PSG (4.60) Barcelona (2.40)22.00: (1.60) Porto (4.50) PSV (5.00)22.00: (1.18) Roma (7.75) Slovan B. (13.0)22.00: (3.40) Stuttgart (3.50) Atl.Madrid (2.10)Wednesday19.45: (2.30) Como (3.50) Man.Utd. (3.00)19.45: (2.20) Lille (3.50) Galatasaray (3.20)22.00: (1.22) Aston Villa (7.00) Viking (10.5)22.00: (2.10) Bayern (3.90) Arsenal (3.20)22.00: (1.53) Betis (4.30) Feyenoord (6.00)22.00: (2.05) Club Brugge (3.50) Lens (3.50)22.00: (1.20) Inter (7.25) Shakhtar (12.0)22.00: (1.25) Real Madrid (7.00) RB Leipzig (9.00)22.00: (1.20) Sporting (7.25) LASK (12.0)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-138314-96518" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/138314/season/96518/standings?widgetTitle=UEFA+Champions+League&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:1763px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##
83