Pep Guardiola has been faced with another injury concern only days before the big game against Liverpool at Anfield. Matheus Nunes, Manchester City’s midfielder, was forced to leave the pitch during the second half of their Champions League encounter against Copenhagen.
Nunes appears to have broken the middle finger on his left hand following a hard fall with only 20 minutes remaining in the tournament. Micah Hamilton took his position.
This comes after Jeremy Doku was excluded from the squad owing to fitness difficulties. Regardless, City won 3-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals after an excellent derby victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Nunes was one of several changes made by Guardiola to the lineup that defeated United over the weekend. His team was already 6-2 ahead on aggregate when he was pulled off.
The tournament holders got off to a great start, with early goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez making it difficult for Copenhagen to recover up, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Erling Haaland also scored his regular goal in Europe, extending City’s lead. With Jack Grealish also suffering from recent injuries, this is a difficult time for Guardiola and his players as they prepare for what could be a title decider in Merseyside.
To make matters worse, the current second-place squad may have to play without Doku at Anfield. “He had some muscular problems, so we did not want to take the risk,” Guardiola explained before the game. The Belgian winger started in the Manchester derby over the weekend.
Doku also missed eight games earlier this season due to an injury, and he has struggled to regain his best form since.
Liverpool, on the other hand, is well aware of the problem with injuries this season and will be without a vital group of players for the encounter. City’s Phil Foden was in the squad on Wednesday, despite admitting to having a dead leg after scoring twice at the weekend.
He was an unused replacement as City were given the luxury to relax and rotate knowing that Liverpool would play 24 hours later in Prague before the crucial match on Merseyside.
