Manchester City are waiting to see if Ederson is out for the rest of the season and will have to sit out their pursuit of the double after suffering a shoulder injury in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

The goalkeeper, who was substituted at half-time after being hurt in a collision with Forest defender Willy Boly, left the City Ground with his arm in a sling.

“It doesn’t look good,” admitted manager Pep Guardiola. “We see tomorrow with the doctor.”

Stefan Ortega replaced Ederson against Forest and the Brazilian could now miss their remaining Premier League games against Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham as well as the FA Cup final against Manchester United.

Ortega has made 17 appearances this season, keeping a clean sheet against Arsenal in the Premier League and Tottenham and Chelsea in the FA Cup, while he played in the 3-3 draw with Real Madrid when Ederson was returning from injury.

Guardiola believes City cannot afford to drop a point if they are to retain the title. Arsenal beat Tottenham earlier on Sunday and the City manager added: “I prefer they lose. They make a good result. There are four games left. I think they aren’t going to lose any points and we know what to do.”

City are now mathematically certain of a top-four finish, which is always Guardiola’s first aim for every season.

“Wow, I’m going to celebrate tomorrow,” he said. “My CEO and owner will be so happy. Qualification for the Champions League is the most important target, we did it with four games left. Big congratulations to the club and players.”

Guardiola felt the pitch at the City Ground gave City lucky escapes when it made Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood miss two fine chances.

He explained: “In certain moments we suffered. We were lucky today the pitch was so dry because the chances they missed that was the reason why. We were lucky today that the pitch was in these conditions.”