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The latest Manchester football news as the Premier League returns with a bang next weekend with the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have a number of injury doubts ahead of the Premier League clash next weekend.
The game takes place at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon (4.30pm kick-off) with both teams looking to get one over on their rivals early in the season. United go into the game having come out as 3-2 winners over Burnley, while City will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Brighton in their last outing.
Ahead of the game both Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola could face a nervous wait as to what their squad may look like in terms of injuries.
United have injury doubts over four players, with defender Lisandro Martinez definitely ruled out as he continues to recover from a serious knee injury.
Amorim will be sweating over the fitness of summer signing Matheus Cunha. The forward was forced off in the first half of last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Burnley at Old Trafford.
He later withdrew from the Brazil squad for the current international break. But the player has provided what could be seen as a positive update on social media.
On his Instagram story, he shared an image of himself on an exercise bike alongside a caption reading: “The time is flying,” with a clock and dynamite emoji.
It is unknown quite how serious the injury is and if it will rule him out for the Manchester derby in the upcoming weekend.
Cunha wasn’t the only player to pick up an injury in the game against Burnley, with Amorim also revealing that Mason Mount played on with an injury.
"It was hard to lose Cunha and Mason Mount, because Mason Mount played 30 minutes with an injury," he said. “I'm concerned about that, because they are so important for us. We will see."
It seems that it is a waiting game for United and Amorim, with the team also given another injury worry with full-back Diogo Dalot withdrawing from international duty with Portugal.
In a statement the Portuguese Football Federation said: "Full-back Nuno Tavares was called up to the National Senior squad this Thursday to replace Diogo Dalot.
"The international, who plays for Manchester United, complained of muscle discomfort and was released by the Health and Performance Unit. Nuno Tavares, 25, a Lazio player, joins the national team in Yerevan, travelling this Thursday from Rome to the capital of Armenia.”
It is unknown how serious the problem is, with it making the defender a doubt for the game against City.
Ahead of the return of the Premier League, it’s not only United with injury concerns ahead of the match. Guardiola’s team could have as many as 11 players missing for the match at the Etihad Stadium.
City will be without Rayan Cherki who will miss the next two months after suffering a thigh injury. They will also be without midfielder Mateo Kovacic defender Josko Gvardiol, goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
There is however hopes that Savinho could be back after the international break. Guardiola could however have a nervous wait over the condition of Abdukodir Khusanov.
The 21-year-old came off injured in the closing stages of the defeat against Brighton and tests revealed he could be out for two weeks after pulling out of the Uzbekistan squad over the international break.
There is a doubt over Rico Lewis, with the defender pulling out of England U21 duty over the international break. Despite playing against Brighton Rayan Ait-Nouri has pulled out of international duty with Algeria due to an ankle injury.
Nico O’Reilly is another player who has pulled out of international duty. The midfielder withdrew from the England U21 squad with an undisclosed injury.
After starting all three Premier League games for City so far this season, defender John Stones pulled out of the England squad as a precautionary measure. It was described as ‘minor muscle issues’ by Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel.
Phil Foden is the last injury worry for City. The forward was on the bench for the game against Spurs, but was again left out of the squad for the defeat to Brighton. Whether he returns for the game against United remains to be seen.
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