Manchester City have suffered an unexpected injury ahead of their trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
The contest is an important one for the Manchester club after losing to Tottenham last time out, as Pep Guardiola’s men will want to avoid back-to-back defeats to keep out the demons that appeared during the 24/25 campaign.
Man City received a big boost this week as Rayan Ait-Nouri will be fit to face Brighton, although Guardiola doesn’t know who will play in goal against the Seagulls following James Trafford’s error against Tottenham.
Preparations for the trip to the Amex looked all good on Friday; however, a new report has stated that a key star has suffered a thigh injury right before the Manchester club travel down south on Sunday.
Rayan Cherki in action for Manchester City during a Premier League clash against Wolves.
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
Rayan Cherki to miss Man City’s trip to Brighton with thigh injury
Guardiola reported no new injuries during the open part of his press conference on Friday, but L’Equipe have revealed that Rayan Cherki will miss Man City’s match with Brighton due to a thigh injury.
The report states that the midfielder could also miss France’s matches against Ukraine in Poland next Friday and also Les Bleus’ contest against Iceland at the Parc des Princes on September 9.
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It sounds like Cherki’s injury is not a serious one, but it is enough to keep him out short-term, with the 22-year-old likely to be back in action after the international break.
This is a blow for the player Guardiola labelled as ‘unbelievable‘ ahead of City’s match with Tottenham last week, as it has taken away key minutes the new signing would have wanted to get a better understanding of his teammates.
Cherki struggled against Tottenham and might not have started against Brighton anyway, and his absence has now provided the chance for another important player in Guardiola’s squad to step up.
Pep Guardiola needs to start Phil Foden against Brighton
Having missed Man City’s opening game of the season against Wolves, Phil Foden returned to action against Tottenham last week as the Englishman made an appearance from the bench.
With Cherki out, now is the perfect time to reintroduce the midfielder into the starting 11 to see if he can carry on the impressive form he showed at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Guardiola wants to see Foden get even better throughout the 2025/26 campaign, and if the 25-year-old can reach his 23/24 levels again, that would give City a much better chance of winning back their Premier League title.
That needs to begin on Sunday, as Foden could be a crucial part of Man City’s season, but with doubts still hanging over the Englishman following his displays last season, Guardiola needs to know where the player is at as soon as possible.