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MILAN — Ederson is a serious doubt for Manchester City’s crucial Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday, according to Pep Guardiola.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was forced off with a thigh injury at half-time of the 1-1 draw with Atalanta and was replaced with Claudio Bravo, who was later sent off.
Defender Kyle Walker ended the night in goal.
“I don’t know right now,” said Guardiola when asked whether Ederson will be available at Anfield. “It’s a muscular problem. It’s not big but he didn’t feel comfortable and that’s why we decided to make a substitution but honestly right now I don’t know.”
Ederson will have a scan on Thursday to determine the seriousness of the problem but speaking about David Silva‘s injury on Saturday, Guardiola suggested any muscle injury requires at least 10 days of treatment.
Bravo will be suspended for the next Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk, but will be available to line up at Anfield if required.
The Chile international has not started a Premier League game since May 2018, but Guardiola is convinced he is ready to step in if the news on Ederson is not positive.
“He’s ready to play on Sunday,” said Guardiola. “It is what it is. If Ederson can play he will and if not it will be Claudio. That’s all.
“I know him and why should I have doubts about him? We’ve had incredible situations to overcome and we’ll have to do it now.
“Hopefully some players can recover. We had the bench with two players from the academy we have no more players. We have to recover well and prepare for the game on Sunday.”
Following Bravo’s dismissal, Walker was nominated to take the gloves for the final nine minutes. He saved a late free kick from Ruslan Malinovskyi to earn praise from his manager.
“We didn’t think before but [goalkeeping coach] Xabier Mancisidor suggested him for his courage and he’s quick,” said Guardiola.
“He went in and it was just one shot on target. Congratulations for the courage, the desire to help the team and for going in that position.”