Manchester City’s newest signing midfielder Fabian Delph has been taken off injured only 18 minutes into his debut against Real Madrid after suffering from a reported hamstring injury.
The former Aston Villa midfielder started in the midfield with Brazilian team-mate Fernando, as they formed the double pivot of Manuel Pellegrinit’s 4-2-3-1 formation in the International Champions Cup match in Melbourne. Deplh signed for The Citizens last week after a week of deliberation whether to stay at Villa Park or move to title-contenders Manchester City. The midfielder had signed a five-year-long contract with City.
Real Madrid lead Manchester City 4-1
At the time of compilation of this report, Manchester City . trailed Los Blancos with 3 goals, after a brilliant first half by Real Madrid. Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe all got on the score sheet in the first half. Yaya Toure pulled one back for the Etihad based club, from the penalty spot, after a blatant hand ball from want-away Captain Sergio Ramos.
Second half substitute Denis Cheryshev, the 24-year-old winger scored the 4th goal for Los Blancos in the 73rd minute to help restore Madrid’s three goal lead.
Fabian Delph on the sidelines?
The 25-yea-old had signed for Manchester City after a couple of dramatic U-turn’s. First, he was close to joining the Premier League runners-up before deciding against it and was intent on staying at the Villa park. However, less than a week later, and another dramatic U-turn later, he was at Manchester City’s training grounds to complete his medical.
However, the 25-year-old’s dream debut prematurely ended on a sour note, as he had to limp-off after only 18 minutes, to be replaced by Spaniard Jesus Navas. With a suspected hamstring injury, the English international will have to remain side-lined for anything between 2 weeks to 4 months, based on the severity of his injury.