Manchester City were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the Community Shield and have been left with multiple fitness worries ahead of their Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
Jeremy Doku featured among three new injury concerns for the Manchester club during their defeat at the Principality Stadium.
The contest was one to forget for City as they were comfortably outperformed. The opening goal came after just 24 seconds when Calafiori finished following Lewis-Skelly’s pass through.
City never recovered from that early setback and found themselves two goals behind before the half-hour point. Odegaard delivered a ball to the back post where Tzolis headed it back across the area for Havertz to bundle in from close range. Odegaard then netted himself shortly after the interval to wrap up the scoring.
Many observers were puzzled by the selection given several senior players had only just returned from international duty at the World Cup. Haaland, Anderson and O’Reilly all began the match despite reporting back just days prior. Maresca explained afterward that four players started having managed only two or three training sessions. He added that sometimes athletes prefer to warm up properly and begin the match rather than come on as substitutes. The plan had been to replace all of them after 45 minutes or an hour at most, a call made before kick-off.
City’s loss was concerning enough given the quality of players involved, but three fresh fitness problems surfaced during the contest, giving Maresca another problem to solve before the new league campaign kicks off.
The latest fitness situations are as follows:
Matheus Nunes
Issue: Unclear
Nunes had been named among the substitutes but was forced to pull out moments before the start due to fitness issues. The 27-year-old was reportedly being comforted by medical staff as he left the pitch. Maresca offered no information on his condition in his post-match comments.
Expected back: To be confirmed
Jeremy Doku
Issue: Calf strain
Doku was in the starting eleven and showed flashes of his ability despite a disappointing first half for his side. At the interval, Grealish was observed receiving instructions before heading down the tunnel to get ready for the second period.
Grealish took over from Doku at half-time, and immediately after the restart, Doku was seen on the bench with ice on his calf. No details were given regarding the extent of the Belgian’s problem.
Omar Marmoush
Marmoush landed awkwardly after a challenge late in the contest and appeared to be in pain. The Egyptian international called for Grealish because he could not take the free kick he had been awarded.
Maresca stated after the match that Marmoush seemed fine following the game. Should that remain the case, he should be available for their next fixture.
Expected back: August 23 against Bournemouth
Savinho
Issue: Illness
The Brazilian winger sat out Thursday’s open training session at the Joie Stadium while transfer talk continued about his future. Tottenham have long been interested in Savinho, though Maresca clarified that his midweek absence had nothing to do with potential moves.
He was absent from training because he was feeling slightly unwell. The situation would be assessed ahead of the Arsenal match.
Savinho was not included in the matchday squad and did not travel with the group to Cardiff. Providing he has recovered from his illness, he could return for the next game.
Ryan McAidoo
Issue: Shoulder problem
After an eye-catching display against Inter Milan in Hong Kong, McAidoo was absent from the rest of the pre-season schedule due to a shoulder issue. Before the trip to Cardiff, Maresca noted that McAidoo had picked up a minor problem during pre-season but had already rejoined full training, meaning everyone was match-fit.
McAidoo arrived with the squad in the Welsh capital but was not included among the substitutes. The young player could be part of the matchday group when the top flight gets underway.