Ederson is set to miss Manchester City’s final two games of the season after fracturing his eye socket against Tottenham on Tuesday.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was on the receiving end of a Cristian Romero challenge that left the 30-year-old immobile on the ground and requiring some lengthy treatment.
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Eventually, he was able to get to his feet and initially tried to carry on playing, but was eventually withdrawn from the match.
Ederson was replaced by Stefan Ortega, who won the Player of the Match award and produced an outstanding save to deny Heung-Min Son in the closing minutes.
The German will now play a starting role in the final Premier League match against West Ham on Sunday, before suiting up for the FA Cup final on 25 May.
He has proven to be a suitable replacement before and will have the full confidence of his players on a huge occasion at the Etihad and then Wembley.
We can confirm that Ederson will miss the final two games of the season due to a small fracture of his eye socket.
Everyone at the Club wishes Ederson a speedy recovery 🩵
More information ⤵️
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 16, 2024
This season, Ortega has made 2.38 saves per game with a save success of 76%, while Ederson has averaged 1.73 saves at 67.86%.
Naturally, Ederson’s stats look worse because he has played more games, but Pep Guardiola is a big advocate of his reserve keeper.
Ortega has played in every round of the League and FA Cup since joining in 2022, and he remains unbeaten in the Premier League.
The 31-year-old has featured 11 times in England’s top flight, winning nine and drawing twice.
So while Ederson’s absence is a big blow, his replacement is more than capable of getting the job done.
