Manchester City have been dealt a potential injury blow concerning Nathan Ake.
After starting in the Netherlands’ recent 3-0 win over Greece, the 28-year-old was substituted at halftime and replaced by Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij.
Now, some details have emerged regarding why the City star didn’t come out to play in the second half.
City dealt Ake injury worry
According to a recent report from De Telegraaf, Ake was taken off at halftime as a precautionary measure as he “suffered some minor complaints” in the first half of the match.
Speaking after the game, Ronald Koeman said that the defender was taken off as they didn’t want to take any risks with him.
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So far this season, Ake has started three of City’s four Premier League games, scoring his first goal of the campaign in the 5-1 win over Fulham last weekend.
This shows how much of an important figure he is for Pep Guardiola’s side and why the prospect of him having picked up a potential injury will not be well received by the Manchester club.
In fact, the Dutchman showed in the first half of Thursday’s match just how much of a capable defender he is by making three clearances, one tackle and winning all five of the duels he was involved in.
As well as that, Ake has a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions (11) made than any other City defender in the Premier League this season, further highlighting how important he can be at the back.
Moving forward, even though he was only taken off the pitch as a precaution, everyone at City will be hoping that the defender will be fully recovered from whatever complaints he had and will be available for selection by the time the Premier League campaign resumes.