Manchester City full back Fabian Delph leaves Anfield on crutches after knee injury in Liverpool defeat

Guardiola will now be forced to turn to Danilo or Oleksandr Zinchenko

Mark Critchley
Anfield
Sunday 14 January 2018 11:38 EST
Comments
Fabian Delph went down with a knee problem shortly after the half hour mark
Fabian Delph went down with a knee problem shortly after the half hour mark (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Fabian Delph appears set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after leaving Anfield on crutches following Manchester City's 4-3 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.

Three second-half goals in the space of eight minutes from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah made the difference as City’s long unbeaten Premier League run was brought to an abrupt end.

Delph, at fault in the build-up to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s opener, later turned his knee while making a challenge on the was replaced by Danilo shortly after the half hour mark having gone down with a suspected knee injury.

After the final whistle, the midfielder made his way out of Anfield on crutches with his knee in a brace and during his post-match press conference, Guardiola confirmed that Delph’s problem is a serious one.

“He will be out, I think, for a while,” the City manager said. “I don’t know if it will be a lot of time but he will be out for a while. It is his knee, he turned his knee.”

Delph, naturally a central midfield player, has filled in at left-back for City since £52m summer recruit Benjamin Mendy suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in September.

Guardiola will now be forced to turn to Danilo - Kyle Walker’s cover at right-back - or winger Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has impressed in the left back position in City’s FA and EFL Cup games.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in