Manchester City dealt big blow as Gabriel Jesus breaks metatarsal
Gabriel Jesus joined Manchester City in January and immediately sparked a turnaround for the Citizens, pushing Sergio Aguero out of the starting lineup and starring despite being just 19 years old. Unfortunately, City will now have to do without him because the club announced that he has a broken metatarsal.
It's unclear how long Jesus will miss due to his injury. He was hurt early in Manchester City's win over Bournemouth on Monday, being substituted off after 15 minutes. He was spotted getting around on crutches afterward.
Jesus picked up an assist in his first ever start with Manchester City, then followed it up with a goal and assist in his next contest and two goals in the one after that. It was a surreal start for the Brazilian teenager, who everyone had high hopes for but also expected to need time to adapt to City and the Premier League. That clearly was not the case and after some raised eyebrows at Pep Guardiola's decision to start Jesus over Aguero, the Brazilian showed that he deserved to be in the lineup.
It's not just that Jesus scored goals either. The Citizens won all three matches that he started, moving on on the FA Cup and jumping back into the top four in the Premier League. Guardiola's men had been struggling, predictably in the midfield and defense, but Jesus helped mask that. Not only did he pressure defenses when he was on the ball, but his press while defending helped turn teams over before they could exploit City's weaknesses at the back.
Now City will have to go back to Aguero, which is hardly a killer. The Argentine is still one of the best strikers in the world, but the Citizens had something special in Jesus and dealing him a blow so early in his City career won't be easy. The timing also couldn't be worse, with the Champions League set to resume. But this is the hand that City and Jesus have been dealt.
