Manchester City: Ferran Torres a major doubt for Burnley clash

Manchester City looks as if they will have to do the Burnley challenge without the services of Ferran Torres, who had to leave country duty early following a fracture to his foot.

No lucky break for Ferran Torres, who will have to wait longer for his next Premier League start; Torres last Premier League start for Manchester City came in their 1-0 victory over Leicester City on Matchday 4.

Nonetheless, and with this in mind, the Spaniard was overdue for a start and it was supposed to come this weekend, Matchday 8, when they face Burnley.

This is not only because he hasn’t played a single minute of football since his 71 minutes against Wycombe in the EFL Cup win, but because he was in fine form while playing for Spain.

Although he missed 270 minutes of club action between the Carabao Cup and now, he managed to score two vital goals in their UEFA Nations League Semi-Finals against Italy – the final score was 2-1.

The club gave little away on Ferran’s situation, stating only that he has returned to the City camp and is being closely monitored and further tests are being administered to assess the severity of the fractured foot.

The club released the following statement:

"Ferran Torres has suffered an injury to his right foot whilst on international duty.The City forward, who scored twice in Spain’s UEFA Nations League semi-final victory over Italy and also started the showpiece final against France, has picked up a small fracture.He has since returned to Manchester for tests and will continue to be monitored. ManCity.com will bring you further updates on Ferran’s recovery as we get them.(Via: mancity.com)"

A major FPL asset lost or not in Ferran Torres?

For this weekend, most definitely a strong asset missing for FPL managers selection. The talk of the FPL town is and has been about playing the Wildcard chip; Ferran Torres became a top trend as a potential wildcard pick, as well as a great differential.

Now Pep Guardiola, many wildcard players, and many managers have to rethink and shuffle around – more Pep than the millions of Fantasy Premier League managers.

Pretending Torres was going to start, who steps in for him now?

Pep has to consider who goes in as the false 9 player with Torres out: does he go with Jack Grealish there, who had a disappointing outing against Liverpool in the role? Or does he go with Phil Foden and bring Raheem Sterling back into the starting XI?

Sterling has not started a Premier League game since the Southampton draw – and it will be surprising to see him start here as well – having come out and expressed his desire to leave Manchester City.

The main thing to notice about his absence, the City boss will be able to cope effortlessly, having done so over the past few games the 21-year-old was not chosen for. Predicting who will be chosen one? The in-form Foden.