Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed the extent of Nico O'Reilly's injury concern after he withdrew from the starting line-up against Coventry City on Saturday afternoon.
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A singular goal from Erling Haaland in the first-half of Manchester City's third Premier League game of the 2026/27 season was enough to separate themselves from newly-promoted Coventry City upon the full-time whistle.
The Norwegian international striker clattered home a perfect Antoine Semenyo cross, who himself combined neatly with Enzo Fernandez down the right in a bright performance from the Argentine midfielder.
The travelling Cov showed plenty of spirit and determination throughout the contest, and threatened to equalise on numerous occasions particularly in the second-half, only to be thwarted by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Manchester City goal.
The pre-match was far from straightforward however, as Maresca's starting line-up was forced into a late amendment owing to an injury sustained by Nico O'Reilly during the warm-up period before the contest.
Manchester City battled to victory in the Premier League against Coventry City, with Erling Haaland netting the winner and the Blues’ deadline day signings making their debuts.cityxtra.co.ukMatch Report and Player Ratings: Man City 1-0 Coventry City (Premier League)
Manchester City battled to victory in the Premier League against Coventry City, with Erling Haaland netting the winner and the Blues’ deadline day signings making their debuts.
Nico O'Reilly injury concern clarified by Maresca
Now, speaking to reporters following Manchester City's 1-0 win over Coventry on Saturday afternoon, manager Enzo Maresca confirmed that Nico O'Reilly felt an issue in his back during the warm-ups ahead of the contest.
Whilst the England international defender and midfielder was forced to withdraw from the line-up and was replaced by deadline day signing Enzo Fernandez, Maresca revealed, "It doesn't look like something serious".
On the decision to originally name Fernandez among his Manchester City substitutes at the weekend, Maresca explained, "The reason why was he arrived two days ago."
The Italian continued, "I know how frustrating it's been for Enzo the last two, three weeks. So the idea was to give him some minutes, but at the end he played from the start. He was quite good and I'm happy with his performance."
Will Nico O'Reilly be fit for Man City's next matches?
With manager Enzo Maresca confirming that Nico O'Reilly was "okay" despite his back issue on Saturday, it remains to be seen whether the England international will return to availability immediately for the club's UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday night.
Manchester City are scheduled to travel to FC Porto on matchweek one of the competition's league phase, and Maresca will likely issue a further update following assessment on O'Reilly when he speaks to the media from Portugal on Monday evening.
After the clash on the continent, Manchester City are then due to return to England immediately as they begin preparations for the first clash against Manchester United of the Enzo Maresca era.
The Blues go up against Michael Carrick's squad at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, and will no doubt require his full compliment of star's if he wishes to come away from their cross-town rivals with all three points and maintain their position at the summit of the Premier League table.