Iliman Ndiaye was taken off against Aston Villa
Iliman Ndiaye was taken off against Aston Villa
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Enzo Maresca could welcome Matheus Nunes back into the Manchester City team as early as Wednesday when they take on Brighton in the Carabao Cup. The Portugal star missed a second successive game with a knock that he picked up in the victory over Ipswich last week.
Nunes and Antoine Semenyo were the two players missing from City's squad with injury at Villa Park, and the absence of both was noticeable. Abdukodir Khusanov started at right-back for the Blues before Rico Lewis took over at half-time following a double substitution.
Asked about the extent of Nunes's injury, Maresca was optimistic about when his defender can return.
"Matheus could be available for the next game," he said, as City prepare to host Brighton in both the Carabao Cup and Premier League next week at the Etihad.
Jeremy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye were on the wings with Semenyo sidelined for two months, and Ndiaye capped a lively performance by standing up a cross for Erling Haaland to head home the equaliser early in the second half. He was taken off shortly afterwards though, with 18-year-old Ryan McAidoo coming on to try and replicate his impact.
Maresca played down injury concerns with Ndiaye as City look to avoid more issues in a busy schedule. "He's ok, he had cramp, he was tired but he was very good between the first half and the second half," added the Blues boss.
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