Romano Claims Man City Summer Signing Has Suffered Injury That Could Force Him To Miss 7 Games

Man City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri will be out of contention until after the October international break, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Writing on his X account, Romano said that the £31m summer recruit from Wolves could be sidelined with an ankle injury for up to 5 weeks.

In his pre-match press conference, manager Pep Guardiola had already ruled out Ait-Nouri from playing in the Manchester derby.

However, it now looks certain that the 24-year-old will be sidelined for another 6 games (at the very least).

What fixtures will Ait-Nouri be unavailable for?

In addition to the clash against Manchester United this weekend, the left-back won’t feature in the first Champions League match of the campaign versus Napoli on Thursday night.

Ait-Nouri will also be ruled out for the clash against Arsenal at the Emirates later this month, the Carabao Cup third round tie against Huddersfield Town, the home match versus Burnley, the second Champions League fixture against Monaco and the trip to Brentford at the start of October.

The 5-week layoff suggests he could potentially return for the Everton game on October 18th, although there is a chance that could come too soon.

Why did the Man City defender play against Brighton?

It should be pointed out that Ait-Nouri actually sustained the ankle problem in the second Premier League fixture versus Tottenham. He was then cleared to face Brighton just before the international break.

The fullback played the full 90 minutes at the Amex but he subsequently pulled out of Algeria’s squad for their matches against Botswana and Guinea.

You do get the sense that Ait-Nouri may have made the injury worse by playing against the Seagulls, and that is why he is now facing a lengthy spell on the treatment table.

Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here