Man City confirm star player to miss FA Cup final v Man Utd & title-decider v West Ham

Manchester City have confirmed Ederson will miss the club’s final two games of the season following the injury he sustained on Tuesday night.

The goalkeeper collided with Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero in the second half of that crucial victory in the Premier League title race and, after attempting to continue, was replaced by Stefan Ortega.

Now the German looks set to be the man between the sticks for Sunday’s Premier League title-decider against West Ham United, where a win will secure a fourth consecutive first-place finish for Pep Guardiola’s side. He’ll also deputise for next week’s FA Cup final against Manchester United.

In a statement released on Thursday, City said: “Manchester City can confirm that Ederson will miss the final two games of the season due to a small fracture of his eye socket.

“The Brazilian goalkeeper suffered the injury during our 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening. He has since undergone scans of the affected area that have revealed a small fracture to the right eye socket.

“The injury will prevent Ederson from playing any further part in the remaining games of the 2023/24 season. Everyone at the Club wishes Ederson a speedy recovery.”

The 30-year-old was distraught when he was withdrawn against Tottenham, perhaps an early indication of the severity of the problem, although Guardiola insisted post-match that the player was not concuss and had issues with his vision due to a swollen eye.

Ederson had been named in Brazil’s squad for this summer’s Copa America, and will hope he is still available to feature in the competition which is to be staged in the USA.

As for Ortega, the goalkeeper was always expected to play in the FA Cup final, owing to the fact he has played in all five games in this season’s tournament. The stand-in stopper put in an excellent cameo against Tottenham on Tuesday, which included a potentially title-winning save to deny Heung-min Son’s one-on-one chance.

Ortega has played 18 times already this season and has largely impressed when called upon. Guardiola even faced questions last month regarding whether Ederson is still his no.1 choice.