---
title: "Nico O’Reilly injury boost for Man City ahead of Manchester derby"
canonical: "https://readmancity.com/2026/09/08/nico-oreilly-man-city-injury-manchester-derby/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Gary Gowers"
section: "Man City News"
published: "2026-09-08T06:46:16Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T18:49:49Z"
---

# Nico O’Reilly injury boost for Man City ahead of Manchester derby

**Nico O’Reilly will “probably” be available for** [**City**](https://readmancity.com/) **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.

*For updates on City throughout the season, take a look at our [LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments](https://dave.sport/live/premier-league-2026-2027-season-updates/) page.*