Nico O’Reilly will “probably” be available for City in Sunday’s Manchester derby – but Enzo Maresca remains unsure over Jeremy Doku.
Neither player has travelled to Portugal for tonight’s Champions League opener against Porto.
O’Reilly was originally named in the starting XI against Coventry City on Saturday but withdrew after reporting a back problem during the warm-up, allowing deadline-day signing Enzo Fernández to make an unexpected debut. Doku has been out since suffering a calf problem during the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal last month.
Maresca hopeful over O’Reilly
Asked on Monday night whether the pair could return against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Maresca said: “Nico probably yes, Jeremy we’re not sure yet, we need to wait.”
That sounds encouraging for O’Reilly, whose absence against Coventry appears likely to be a short one. Doku is less certain, although Maresca confirmed the Belgian is making progress and has not suffered a setback.
“He is back,” said the City boss. “I don’t know if he can be available for the weekend, but slowly, slowly he is back.”
So O’Reilly has a decent chance of being involved at Old Trafford, while Doku’s availability remains in the balance. There should be a clearer picture on both when Maresca holds his derby press conference on Friday.
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