Matheus Nunes gives Pep Guardiola decision to make as Man City opportunity opens up
Pep Guardiola admits Rodri will be out for a "long, long time" with his knee injury and Matheus Nunes has revealed how Manchester City will cope without their midfield talisman
by David Anderson · The MirrorMatheus Nunes has told Pep Guardiola he can help fill the huge void left in Manchester City’s midfield by Rodri’s serious knee injury.
Rodri is set to miss the rest of the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury and the City star has flown home to be treated. Guardiola claimed on Tuesday night he is still waiting to hear how bad Rodri’s injury is, but says he will be out for a “long, long time”.
City released a statement on Wednesday morning, confirming the Spain star has suffered a ligament to his right knee and that they still don't know exactly how long he will be sidelined. Nunes netted his first City goal on his 34th appearance for the Blues in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Watford and says he can help replace Rodri.
“I try to help the team every time the coach puts me on the field, but I know the other guys are all ready as well because we have so much quality in the team,” said the Portuguese. “We’re going to have to fill the void because it’s a massive loss, but whoever is on the pitch is going to perform well.
“We’ve shown that if any player is out we have another one that is ready and has top quality to play. Last year it happened with Erling [Haaland] and Kevin [De Bruyne] and we still managed to win. This year, I know we will be the same.”
Nunes, 26, has struggled to nail down a regular place at City following his £53million move from Wolves a year ago and says he feels settled now.
“I’m always ready and I’ll always be ready,” he said. “It’s the manager’s decision, but he knows I’m always ready and every time he calls me up, I’ll be there.
“I think I’m more comfortable now. I’ve settled in better this season because I know all the tactics and the way we play and defend. It’s more in my mind already and everything is very clear for me this year.
“Last year was more trying to learn everything and trying to keep up with the other lads, who’ve been here for years. Hopefully this season will be even better.”
Nunes claimed the Watford tie was the ideal way for City to get over the drama of Sunday’s hugely-controversial draw with Arsenal. The game kicked-off just 49 hours after John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser and Nunes says it helped greatly immediately focusing on another game.
“It couldn’t have been easier really,” he said. “There were just two days and for us that was the best thing because we want to play and we didn’t have time to think about it.
“We didn’t think much about what happened in the Arsenal game. We just tried to turn the page and focus on Watford.” Haaland led the accusations of Arsenal excelling in the dark arts after their 10 men came within seconds of frustrating City to record a memorable win and Nunes admits they were difficult to break down.
“It was tough because they defended very deep and were very compact,” he said. “They are a very strong team defending in that way and it was even more dominant because they had one less player so they couldn’t counter. “We tried and tried and tried and in the end it paid off. We wanted to win, but one point is good because they’re a very strong team.”
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