Ederson remains a key injury doubt as Manchester City prepare for their FA Cup semi-final date with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The Brazilian goalkeeper limped off with a recurring groin injury in the second half of the recent 5-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League and missed the subsequent late victory at Everton as well as Tuesday night’s last-gasp triumph against Aston Villa.
No2 Stefan Ortega has deputised for Ederson of late - supported by veteran Scott Carson - and could do so again at Wembley this weekend with Pep Guardiola unsure if his first-choice stopper will be in contention.
“We’ll see,” the City boss said on Friday when asked if Ederson could play against Forest. “Eddie is coming back training a little bit. But I don’t know if he’ll be ready for this game, hopefully the next one.”
City look set to again be without defenders John Stones and Nathan Ake despite the pair ramping up their respective returns from thigh and foot issues, though they at least suffered no fresh injury worries in the midweek defeat of fellow FA Cup semi-finalists Villa.
It remains to be seen exactly when key stars Erling Haaland and Rodri will be back in action for City, though Guardiola had a positive update on both when addressing the media before that latest Wembley visit.
“He feels better,” Guardiola said on top scorer Haaland, who was expected to miss up to seven weeks after injuring his ankle in the quarter-final win over Bournemouth last month.
“I said before I don’t know when. It’s not a comfortable injury. You have some twist in your ankle and then taping.
“It’s not comfortable. He’s not a small guy but he’s getting better step by step. Still, he doesn’t train with the team but we will see how he does.”
On Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who has been building up his training workload in a bid to return this season from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered against Arsenal back in September, Guardiola said: “Every training session he does with us, he does well.
“But I don’t know. Rodri wants [to play] but the doctor will have to say ‘Pep you have green light to give him minutes.’ I want to rely on the doctors in that case.”
Forest - a point behind City in fourth in the Premier League table but with a game in hand - are assessing a number of players before their first FA Cup semi-final appearance since 1991, including Ola Aina, Eric da Silva Moreira and Jota Silva.
Predicted Man City XI: Ortega, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Gonzalez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva, Savinho, Marmoush
Injured: Rodri, Haaland, Stones, Ake
Doubt: Ederson
Time and date: 4:30pm BST on Sunday April 27, 2025
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
How to watch: ITV1
