David Silva Injury Hands Manchester City Severe Blow in Title Race

Manchester City have suffered a massive setback in the title race after David Silva suffered an ankle injury during their 3-1 victory in the Premier League fixture against West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad on Monday evening.

The Spanish international hit the ground clutching his right ankle in the 67<sup>th minute while attempting to protect the ball against Morgan Amalfitano and Billy Jones. Following the arrival of the club's medical staff, Silva was carried off on a stretcher with his injured ankle tightly strapped for protection.

The 28-year-old was unfit to play against Sunderland on 16 April due to a problem in the same ankle. Manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed that, Silva was playing through the pain this month and will undergo assessments in the coming days to determine the severity of the injury.

"We will have to see tomorrow [Tuesday] what has happened. David played the last three games with pain in his ankle and that is why it wasn't possible for him to play against Sunderland [last week]," Pellegrini explained.

"He got a kick some weeks ago and every week he has played the game with pain. It is hard to tell without the doctors giving their assessment but hopefully it will be a short-term injury."

The Chilean is already without the services of midfielder Yaya Toure and winger Jesus Navas due groin and ankle injuries respectively. The latter is likely to return for City's next fixture against Crystal Palace while the Ivorian is expected to be in contention for next month's trip to Everton.

The Citizens' win against the Baggies helps them remain in contention in the title race as they currently sit third in the league table with 74 points after playing 34 matches; six points behind leaders Liverpool who have played one game more.

Concerns were also raised when Sergio Aguero, City's top scorer this season in all competitions, was substituted in the 63<sup>rd minute for Stevan Jovetic. The 25-year-old made his second competitive start for Pellegrini's side having spent a month on the sidelines with hamstring injury.

However, the former Real Madrid manager clarified that the Argentinean international was taken off because he is not ready to play the full game.

"Sergio does not have a problem, but we thought 60 - 70 minutes and the way he plays always running it was we wanted, we wanted him to have more minutes but at this moment not 90 minutes," Pellegrini told Sky Sports.