Man City rocked by another injury as star defender is forced off with concussion against Liverpool

Manchester City have been handed a fresh injury setback after Adbukodir Khusanov was forced off in their 2-1 win against Liverpool.

The defender picked up a head injury after colliding with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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Khusanov had put his body on the line in a bid to prevent Cody Gakpo scoring for the Reds.

However, in doing so, he was left in agony after Donnarumma rushed out and inadvertently kneed his team-mate in the face.

The Italian was immediately concerned as he signalled to the City bench for the medical staff to come on.

Although Khusanov was able to get to his feet after receiving treatment, the Uzbekistan international was unable to continue.

Despite arguing he felt fit enough to continue, the City physios deemed his head injury significant enough to be taken off.

As a result, Pep Guardiola was forced to make a concussion substitution and bring on Ruben Dias.

Concussion substitutes can be used when a player has clear symptoms of a concussion during a match.

They do not count as one of a team’s five permitted substitutions and are deemed an additional alteration.

Khusanov will now be a doubt for City’s home match against Fulham on Wednesday night with the fixture just three days away.

Prior to his injury on Sunday, the 21-year-old had made five consecutive Premier League starts, completing 90 minute in the previous four matches.

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An ankle injury earlier in the campaign has limited Khusanov to 20 appearances across all competitions this term.

Meanwhile, their injury list extends to six despite the returns to fitness for Dias and Bernardo Silva.

The former had missed City’s last eight matches due to a hamstring injury.

City’s injury woes are set to continue beyond the visit of Fulham in midweek, with Savinho the only player likely to return.

Elsewhere, John Stones is not expected to make a comeback before next weekend’s FA Cup tie against Salford City.

Jeremy Doku could also return this month, but long-term absentees Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol are out until March and April, respectively.

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Dramatic Anfield turnaround

Guardiola’s afternoon went from bad to worse minutes later as Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick gave Liverpool the lead.

However, the visitors hauled themselves level against the run of play after Silva flicked Erling Haaland’s header past Alisson.

Haaland then completed a dramatic turnaround in stoppage time after City were handed a late penalty.

Alisson brought down Matheus Nunes, allowing the Norwegian to step up and score.

There was still more drama to come, though, as Rayan Cherki found the net from his own half after the hosts’ goalkeeper had stayed forward from a corner.

However, the goal was ruled out after Szoboszlai and Haaland had tussled as the ball trickled in, with the midfielder sent off following a VAR review.

Despite the late theatrics, City secured their first league double over Liverpool since 1937 following their home win back in November.

It also reduces the gap to league leaders Arsenal back down to six points with 13 matches remaining.