Nathan Ake injury update: Man City star suffers injury on international duty, fans furious

Manchester City's injury problems have worsened after centre-back Nathan Ake was the latest to suffer a setback during international duty on Wednesday night. Ake lasted only six minutes in the international friendly against Spain before limping off the pitch with a hamstring injury. Ake played an innocuous back pass to Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot, before clutching the back of his right leg as he looked in some discomfort while coming off, leaving Man City fans fuming.

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Netherlands vs Spain: Nathan Ake injury mars friendly

Frank de Boer's Netherlands were already without the injured centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs De Ligt ahead of their international friendly against Spain at the Johan Cryuff Arena. However, just five minutes into the clash, Nathan Ake appeared to be in some discomfort and clutched the back of his right leg. The 25-year-old attempted to continue but pulled up again after challenging Alvaro Morata in the box and had to be subbed off after receiving treatment from the physio.

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Ake was replaced by Daley Blind and Spain then took the lead through Sergio Canales after 18 minutes. The hosts managed to equalize through Donny van de Beek in the second half as the game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. While speaking to reporters after the game, De Boer stated that the friendly against Spain was not required to be played because footballers are already playing so many games in a congested period which is leading to a host of injuries. 

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Nathan Ake injury update: When will Nathan Ake return?

So far, there have been no reports over Ake's injury and it is still unknown whether the Dutch defender will spend time on the sidelines or not. Reports from ESPN state that Ake might have suffered a muscle (hamstring) injury, but the Dutch national team are yet to provide an update on their centre-back.

The Netherlands will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Nations League on Sunday before their encounter against Poland next Wednesday. Along with the Dutch national side, Man City will also be sweating over Ake's injury.

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Man City injury news: Ake injury a cause of concern for Pep Guardiola

Ake arrived at City from Bournemouth in the summer and missed a few games in October due to some "niggles in his groin", Guardiola said last month. However, Man City fans were left furious with Ake's participation in the international friendly as Ake had only just recovered from a groin issue. One wrote, "Why is Ake playing so much just after returning from injury? Just scrap these international friendlies," while another added, "Just what I didn't want to see, Ake going down after six minutes against Spain, friendlies are a curse in disguise."

Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Benjamin Mendy are all nursing injury problems but are expected to return after the international break. 

Image Credits - Nathan Ake Instagram