Injured Khadija Shaw ruled out of Man City’s Champions League tie with Chelsea

Manchester City will be without forwards Khadija Shaw and Aoba Fujino for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Chelsea due to muscle injuries.

Shaw came off late on during the 2-1 League Cup final defeat to Chelsea at Pride Park on Saturday, having felt a hamstring issue, with goalscorer Fujino being substituted at the same time.

Interim boss Nick Cushing on Tuesday confirmed the pair would miss Wednesday’s match at the Joie Stadium, adding that he thought their injuries were “significant”.

“Bunny Shaw came out, she’ll be unavailable and Aoba came out and she’ll be unavailable as well for the game,” he told a press conference.

“It’s two significant players missing but for us, these moments just give opportunities for other players.

“Both of them are muscle injuries. I think the problem with these type of injuries is it’s going to take a few days to even be able to diagnose how long the problem is.

“I think they are significant, but at the same time, for me it’s about just leave it with the medical team, understand I have to find a solution for this game and then we’ll roll on to the next one and see where we are.

“I think when you have muscle injuries and you can’t diagnose the timeframe, it’s ultimately not going to be one you’re going to turn around quickly.”

Saturday was the first of four-successive meetings against Chelsea, with City – after Wednesday – hosting a Women’s Super League clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, then going to Stamford Bridge for leg two of the European tie, four days later.

Ahead of the quartet of fixtures, City – fourth in the WSL and 12 points behind leaders Chelsea – sacked Gareth Taylor and brought former boss Cushing back on an interim basis to the end of the season.

Cushing said: “You have a huge game Saturday, to an even bigger game tomorrow. I think the team is motivated.

“I think the pain of losing the League Cup final after playing well supersedes the tiredness and what I see is a group of players that are just really hungry to get going again. I think Saturday’s result is almost fuel for this team.”

The trophy on Saturday was a first for Chelsea under Sonia Bompastor, who has overseen a stunning campaign so far after succeeding Emma Hayes, with the team still unbeaten in all competitions, winning all but two games.

While Chelsea claimed many a trophy with Hayes, the Champions League – won by Bompastor with Lyon – remained elusive.

The Frenchwoman, who has ex-City midfielder Keira Walsh back available, said: “It will be our mindset to attack the game, to be able to control it probably a little bit more (than on Saturday). I think the players are confident.”

Chelsea skipper Millie Bright said: “There was barely zero celebrations (on Saturday), everyone was tucked in bed by 9.30pm – I was definitely, I was flat out! We have our eyes set on big targets this year. Winning trophies is not something we shy away from in terms of saying it out loud.

“Any game we play in, the mentality is to win, to be the best, and it’s all about getting to that end goal.

“I think with us this year our mentality’s tightened up a little bit if I’m being honest, I didn’t think it could go to a next level but it has done.”