Manchester City were dealt five injury scares in a matter of minutes while extending their 100 per cent record at the top of the Premier League.
Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Nico O’Reilly and Antoine Semenyo all pulled up with various problems in the latter stages of Saturday’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.
Semenyo’s issue appears to be the most problematic, with O’Reilly again suffering a back complaint – something that has been persistent over the past month.
City will assess them ahead of the Champions League tie with AEK Athens at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday before heading for Aston Villa next weekend.
‘The one we need to wait on is Antoine,’ Maresca said. ‘Erling said he was OK so hopefully it is nothing serious.’
Haaland gingerly limped down the tunnel at full time after appearing to take a knock to the foot after netting a fourth brace of the season.
Manchester City will wait nervously to see the extent of Antoine Semeyo’s (pictured) injury
Maresca praised the fortitude of his squad for three impressive performances in a week against Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and then Ipswich. The Italian admitted that his start to life at the Etihad Stadium has gone better than expected and reiterated his belief that the guilty verdicts have brought the club and fans closer together.
‘I didn’t expect to win seven out of seven,’ Maresca added. ‘We are working well, working good. This is the main thing. It was very good.
‘Even making six changes, the team didn’t change in terms of the way we want to play on and off the ball.
‘You’re worried and concerned about (the number of) changes but it was very good, we didn’t concede chances.’
Phil Foden, who scored his first goal in more than 300 days, added: ‘We just try to not listen to anything. The noise going around, we try to just stick to our football, take it game by game, and I think you can see that it’s not affecting us one bit.
‘We’re still 100 per cent focused on winning football games, and I think that’s how it has to be. The main focus is doing our job, and that’s all we can do.
‘The atmosphere was class. I could feel the presence of the fans, pushing us on every single way.’
Foden conducted interviews while clutching an inflatable banana, saying that he would give one to his son, Ronnie, and Maresca also talked up a ‘very good’ atmosphere, pointing to a record attendance of more than 60,000.
Erling Haaland (pictured) also limped off at the end of the game but Maresca said the forward should be ‘OK’
‘We give credit to the players,’ Maresca said. ‘The players need to be worried about people inside the club and about me, for the credit I give.
‘And not worry about people who can judge them from outside. They are trying to judge them, who need to say something or create some problem. The club gives credit to the players.
‘I’m very happy because it’s a matter of winning games. What makes me very happy was day by day with the players, the way I see them improving. We were creating chances, scoring goals. We are doing well. That’s the most important thing.’