With perhaps the biggest remaining test of their Premier League title challenge on the horizon, Manchester City are facing a major selection headache. Ederson is expected to miss up to four weeks with the muscle injury that forced him off in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Liverpool; unless the Brazilian goalkeeper recovers dramatically ahead of that timescale he will not be available when Arsenal come to the Etihad Stadium on March 31.
The 30 year old hurt himself while colliding into Darwin Nunez in the second half at Anfield, conceding the penalty from which Alexis Mac Allister scored an equaliser that left City third in the Premier League table, a point off Liverpool and leaders Arsenal. Ederson has already withdrawn from the Brazil squad for this month's friendlies away to England and Spain. Gabriel Martinelli has too though the Arsenal forward is set to have recovered from a cut well before his side head to Manchester.
Ederson will also miss Saturday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle United though his understudy Stefan Ortega would likely have played that game anyway. The German is firmly established as Pep Guardiola's preferred option in domestic cup fixtures and has featured in just six Premier League games since joining from Arminia Bielefeld in the summer of 2022. His last Premier League start came in January when he conceded twice against Newcastle.
Speaking after his 25 minute cameo against Liverpool on Sunday, Ortega insisted he was at ease with the pressure of entering a hugely significant game at such a pivotal stage. "If you are on the bench, you always think about what can happen if you go on the pitch," he said, adding: "I do it every day in training and it was about doing the same. I enjoyed every second. It's nothing new what came - I was ready and prepared."
Ortega is certainly more than adequate by the standard of Premier League backup goalkeepers, lauded by Guardiola for his composure and patience after a rare top flight start against Brighton last year. While he is certainly adept with the ball at his feet, the 31 year old does not have the long passing qualities of City's number one, who can turn an opposition high press into a shooting opportunity for his side with a sweep of his left boot. Not having to face up against that will certainly be welcome news for Arsenal when they travel north at the end of this month.
