Fifth Manchester City player withdraws from international duty on Monday

Manchester City have seen a fifth player withdraw from international duty this month on Monday alone, following a number of confirmed exits earlier in the day.

Matheus Nunes – who has been integral to Manchester City’s forward line over the last few weeks due to injuries elsewhere in the squad – became the first to exit the Portugal camp having been deemed ‘not medically fit’ by the national team set-up on Monday.

News of Nunes’ exit was swiftly followed by Manuel Akanji’s withdrawal from the Switzerland camp, after Pep Guardiola revealed on Saturday that the defender had told him, “‘I felt so bad in the training session and I could not move properly'”.

Anticipation grew around the England camp too amid concerns over Jack Grealish’s fitness, after the winger has remained absent from Manchester City action for a number of weeks with a muscular problem picked up in training after the 1-2 win over Wolves at Molineux.

However, it would be confirmed on Monday evening that both Grealish and his England teammate Phil Foden had withdrawn from Lee Carsley’s camp due to fitness and injury concerns.

Adding to the list of Manchester City players exiting from national team duties would be Jeremy Doku from the Belgium camp, alongside Kevin De Bruyne – who had ruled himself out of action in October.

Speaking after the 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Pep Guardiola revealed to reporters that Doku had been suffering from ‘muscular problems’ in his quadriceps, leading to his absence from the squad at the Amex Stadium.

“He doesn’t feel good, he cannot run at full speed,” Guardiola said, before being asked whether Doku would be available after the international break. The 53-year-old responded, “When we arrive, we will make a test and we’ll see how they feel.”

Manchester City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad Stadium upon the return of club football after the final round of national team duties is completed in two weeks time, with Pep Guardiola’s side currently second in the Premier League and trailing Liverpool by five points.