Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has admitted that he 'does not know' whether Nico Gonzalez is facing a spell on the sidelines with the knock that he suffered on his debut against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup.
The 23-year-old is a new signing at the Etihad Stadium, arriving from Porto in the latter stages of the January transfer window, and he was handed his first minutes by Guardiola in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Gonzalez only lasted 22 minutes, though, being forced to leave the field following a heavy challenge by Orient's Sonny Perkins.
The Spaniard has emerged as a doubt for next week's Champions League knockout round playoff against Real Madrid, although the seriousness of the damage suffered by the midfielder is unclear at this stage of proceedings.
Guardiola said that Gonzalez was made aware of the physicality of English football during his first outing for the club.
© Imago
Gonzalez was forced off injured in the early stages of his Man City debut
"I think Nico got immediately what is the Premier League," Guardiola told reporters after the match.
"I know without VAR it's more difficult because they are not used to it and I know it's a League One side, but there were one or two [missed] actions. There's a penalty [that wasn't given]. I think Nico now understands perfectly what [English football] is.
"I don't know how hard [the knock] is, but he could not continue. It was tough to finish the game with Rico [Lewis] and Bernardo [Silva] at right-back and left-back, they are not giants like people I have seen at full-back.
"The first 10 minutes [Orient] attacked really good in the channel and then in the last 10 minutes - apart from that I think we played a really good game."
An own goal from Stefan Ortega, which arrived following a wonderful long-range strike from Jamie Donley, saw Orient take the lead on Saturday, but Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne both scored in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory for the English champions.
© Iconsport
Man City came from behind against Orient to book spot in FA Cup fifth round
"It was impossible to control [this game]," added Guardiola. "In my nine years in England we've played many times against lower division teams in this incredible competition.
"The vibe, the crowd and everything. You play in FA Cup and you don't find it in other places [countries]. I remember Newport with Michael Flynn as manager, I remember Cheltenham and many others.
"Always we behave really good. We were lucky at the end because they create chances, but we created a lot, and their goalkeeper was really good. It was a tight game, but we knew it would be with the [style] that they have.
"We played with character, and we are in the next round and it's always nice. In the last four or five years, we have been in semi-finals all the time. It's good to continue."
Man City will now welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium for the first leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff on Tuesday night before hosting Newcastle United in the Premier League next weekend.
Matt Law
