Man City hit by Ederson injury absence ahead of crucial title run-in

Ederson is set to miss Manchester City’s potentially crucial clash with Arsenal after being ruled out for three to four weeks with the injury he picked up in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

The goalkeeper was hurt when fouling Darwin Nunez, conceding a penalty and collecting a booking, and was replaced by Stefan Ortega soon after Alexis Mac Allister converted the resulting spot kick.

And City’s bid for a fourth consecutive Premier League title has suffered a blow with Ederson ruled out of the meeting with Arsenal on 31 March and a major doubt for the game against fourth-placed Aston Villa three days later.

The 30-year-old will also sit out Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at home to Newcastle, although Ortega was likely to start then anyway.

But Ederson could be in a race against time to recover for the first leg of City’s Champions League quarter-final, which will be on either 9 or 10 April.

Ortega has only begun one Premier League game this season and four in his City career.

While the German started against Arsenal in August’s Community Shield and played in last season’s FA Cup final, a rematch with Mikel Arteta’s side will be the biggest top-flight test he has faced in a City shirt.