Man City dealt rare injury blow before Community Shield as Enzo Maresca forced into late change

Manchester City were dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of kickoff in Sunday's Community Shield, as Matheus Nunes pulled out of the matchday squad.

The Portugal international was named on the bench for the clash with Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium, where Abdukodir Khusanov was given the nod at right-back.

Nunes had played the full 90 minutes in Man City's 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid during their final pre-season friendly, having previously come off the bench against a K-League XI outfit.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man travelled to Cardiff in good health, but shortly before kickoff, it was reported that he had sustained an unspecified injury in the warm-up.

Confirmation of Nunes's injury soon arrived, as the 27-year-old was absent from the teamsheet in the moments before the match began, being replaced by Vitor Reis.

There is still no official word from Man City on Nunes's injury, but Enzo Maresca may be quizzed on the midfielder-turned-defender in his post-game press conference.

Matheus Nunes's injury record assessed after Man City blow

Nunes was one of City's most dependable performers availability-wise last season, taking part in 49 matches and playing 4,015 minutes across all competitions in Pep Guardiola's final campaign.

The 27-year-old was missing from just two matchday squads in 2025-26, sitting out the 2-0 loss to Manchester United in January's derby due to illness, as well as the Champions League battle with Bodo/Glimt shortly after.

As well as staying completely injury-free last season, Nunes has only missed 13 matches due to fitness problems - including illness - throughout his career, according to Transfermarkt.

Furthermore, the right-back has never missed more than five consecutive matches at one time, only sitting out so many games when he sustained a muscular issue in November 2023.

Nunes has registered five goals and 25 assists in 121 appearances for Man City since his 2023 arrival from Wolves, but he is now in the last two years of his Etihad contract.

Which other Man City players are injured?

Man City were already known to be without long-serving midfielder Rodri for the Community Shield, as the Spain international continues his recovery from a back operation.

However, Rodri may not have been involved anyway amid persistent links with Barcelona, which Maresca refused to discuss in his pre-match interview, simply saying "No, no news".

Savinho was another notable absentee from Man City's travelling squad, although Maresca did reveal that the Brazilian - linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur - was suffering from illness earlier in the week.