Manchester City right-back Matheus Nunes has revealed the truth behind his slow start to the 2026/27 campaign, speaking to the media this week.
'Cafunes': Manchester City's leading right-back!
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The Portuguese midfielder, signed by Pep Guardiola following the club's historic 2022/23 Treble-winning season, has been moulded into one of Europe's very best operators in the right-back position.
Holding down the role for the large majority of the last two campaigns, Nunes has been surprisingly dropped from matchday squads and starting line-ups in the opening few matches of the Enzo Maresca era.
However, the truth behind the struggles of Nunes has now emerged, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man revealing that he had sustained an injury prior to the season's traditional curtain-raiser in South Wales back in early August.
Nunes reveals ankle injury blow ahead of 2026/27 season
Speaking to reporters prior to Manchester City's opening game of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign, Matheus Nunes has opened up on the reasoning behind his largely slow start to the Enzo Maresca era on a personal note.
Having seemingly lost his place at right-back to Abdukodir Khusanov in the opening three Premier League matches, and mostly missing out on matchday squads as a whole, the Portugal international has revealed the truth behind his struggles.
"I'm good. I'm 100 per cent now," Nunes told reporters from the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on Monday night.
Explaining his problems during the opening weeks of the new season, he continued, "It was my ankle, it was the day before Arsenal [in the FA Community Shield] in training. I had a tackle, and it was for a while but now I'm fine."
Nunes was also keen to stress the positive impact new manager Enzo Maresca has had on Manchester City since replacing Pep Guardiola as the club's lead tactician, after 10 years under the guidance of the Catalan.
"He's brought so much energy, I feel there's a new energy around. I think we needed that," said Matheus Nunes. "He's also very easy going, very easy to talk to."
He continued, "I didn't know him as some lads did from the Treble season because I wasn't here. But I feel such a good energy. I feel like he knows the club, so this is a good thing as well, he knows the standards."
Does Nunes come straight back into the Man City side?
When Matheus Nunes is deemed completely fit and available, the expectation is that he will instantly become Enzo Maresca's first-choice in the right-back role, shifting Abdukodir Khusanov back into a rotational option at the heart of defence.
It remains to be seen whether Nunes starts from the off against FC Porto on Tuesday night, or whether it is deemed as an opportunity to earn some match rhythm and sharpness ahead of a full return against Manchester United on Sunday.
Any sign of a return to central midfield for Nunes also seems unlikely at this stage, particularly given the investment put in by Manchester City officials over the summer months to bolster that area of the park with stronger specialists.