Advantage Chelsea? Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor gives update on injury to star striker Khadija Shaw as WSL title race heats up

Shaw made a blistering start to the game and set City on their way to a 5-0 victory, scoring twice in the first 24 minutes as her team returned to the top of the Women's Super League table. However, she went down with a foot injury in the final seconds of that first half and was replaced by Chloe Kelly after being helped off the pitch by the team's medical staff.

Concern grew for Shaw when she appeared in a boot and with crutches during the second period. City are locked into a fierce title race with Chelsea, who are three points behind them but with a game in hand. To lose a player who has scored 21 goals in 18 league games this season would be a huge hit to their challenge.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Taylor said of Shaw's withdrawal: "We decided not to take the risk. It was touch and go as to whether she was going to come back on the pitch. We'll get a bit more of an assessment tomorrow. She's on crutches, which looks bad, but most of the players end up being offloaded in that situation. We'll just have to assess it. If it's more serious than we anticipate, then we'll deal with it. I thought Chloe Kelly came onto the pitch and did really well in that position, put them under a lot of pressure, created some good opportunities. We'll find out a little bit more over the next couple of days."

Shaw netted her 50th WSL goal on Sunday in just her 57th game in the competition. Arsenal's Vivianne Miedema is the only player to have reached that milestone quicker.

The Cityzens travel to bottom side Bristol City next weekend as they look to stay ahead in the title race but it is the fixture the week after that which fans will be desperate to have Shaw available for, as third-placed Arsenal come to town.