Ederson ruled out for West Ham and Manchester United clashes as eye injury diagnosis revealed

Manchester City have confirmed that Ederson is ruled out for the remainder of their season following an eye injury sustained on Tuesday night.

The Brazilian shot-stopper was withdrawn during the second-half of Manchester City’s mammoth Premier League encounter with Tottenham this week, following a clash with the knee of Spurs defender Cristian Romero.

Video footage circulating on social media after the game appeared to indicate that the 30-year-old was knocked out through the clash, with Bernardo Silva moving Ederson into the recovery position and Mateo Kovacic visibly concerned for the player’s wellbeing.

Stefan Ortega Moreno came on in Ederson’s place, with the Brazil international originally seething at the decision to replace him due to injury, before the German would go on to make three mammoth saves including a one-vs-one stop to deny Heung-min Son.

Despite initial hope that Ederson could make an immediate return to action for Manchester City’s potentially title-winning clash against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, the club are taking no risks over the health of their number one choice.

A statement released on Thursday afternoon from Manchester City read, “Manchester City can confirm that Ederson will miss the final two games of the season due to a small fracture of his eye socket.

“The Brazilian goalkeeper suffered the injury during our 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening. He has since undergone scans of the affected area that have revealed a small fracture to the right eye socket.”

The statement continued, “The injury will prevent Ederson from playing any further part in the remaining games of the 2023/24 season. Everyone at the Club wishes Ederson a speedy recovery.”

Additional details concerning the protocol taken by Manchester City medical staff at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has also emerged, with Joe Bray of the Manchester Evening News offering insight.

It is detailed that while Manchester City’s decision to keep Ederson on the pitch for a short period was criticised by a head injury charity, the goalkeeper never lost consciousness and passed all medical protocols on the pitch at the time to rule out any concussion.

It has been further explained that Manchester City’s club doctor noticed a potential injury that could swell, and went on to advise Pep Guardiola to replace him, with Ederson later showcasing a large black eye at full time.

After Manchester City’s final game of their Premier League campaign this Sunday afternoon, the club will have an entire week off before they take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final – a repeat of last season’s Wembley showpiece.

Ilkay Gundogan scored twice for Pep Guardiola’s side, including a goal after just 13 seconds, to secure Manchester City the second of their three end-of-season trophies en route to a UEFA Champions League triumph in Istanbul.