Last season saw Manchester City achieve their worst Premier League finish since 2009/10, coming fifth overall, slipping out of the top three.
As such, The Citizens have been on a major recruitment drive in a bid to return to the top of the table.
Already this summer, City have signed Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, Rayan Cherki from Lyon, James Trafford from Burnley and Sverre Halseth Nypan from Rosenborg for a combined £150 million.
Now, Pep Guardiola looks set to be without one of his new signings as injury struck against Tottenham Hotspur.
Today saw Spurs travel North to take on The Citizens at the Etihad, which ultimately saw the London-based side win 2-0.
However, the defeat wasn’t the only issue as Rayan Ait-Nouri had to be replaced by Nathan Ake in the 23rd minute.
Early on in the match, Ait-Nouri picked up a knock, requesting assistance from the club’s medics, however managed to get to his feet and keep playing, seemingly unharmed.
However, minutes later, the Algeria international went down a second time, forcing Guardiola to make the change.
Whilst the extent of his injury is still unknown at this time, City are set to play Manchester United in the first Derby game of the season on 14th September 2025.
With this being only a matter of weeks away, should Ait-Nouri’s injury be of a serious nature, Guardiola could be without his new signing for the fixture.
Should Ait-Nouri be out of action for the game, Guardiola would be out of options for a natural left-back, with Josko Gvardiol and Josh Wilson-Esbrand both also out injured.
There is a chance that Gvardiol will be back in time, with an expected return date of the end of the month, however with the extent of his injury also unknown, Guardiola will be hoping the September international break will buy him some recovery time.
