Man City star consoled by physio and forced to pull out of Community Shield minutes before kick-off

MAN CITY star Matheus Nunes limped out of the Community Shield against Arsenal just minutes before kick-off and had to be consoled by a physio. The Portugal international was initially named on the bench to start the pre-season clash at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Man City star Matheus Nunes had to pull out of his side’s Community Shield clash against Arsenal Credit: PA The setback was a huge blow for new City boss Enzo Maresca Credit: PA But he couldn’t make it through the warm up and was forced to pull out of the game. And according to TNT Sports host Laura Woods, the gutted star was left emotional after the injury set-back and needed support from a City physio. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! He was replaced on the bench by defender Victor Reis. Fans acted with dismay after learning the crushing news that Nunes had to withdraw from the game. One fan wrote: “Nunes injury in the warm-up ffs. Didn’t sound good.” Another said: “We deffo need to sign a back-up right-back now.” Nunes was City’s first choice right-back last season after being converted into a makeshift defender by Pep Guardiola. He started 32 of City’s 38 games, scoring once and assisting five. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK ARSENAL VS MAN CITY – COMMUNITY SHIELD 2026 LIVE UPDATES But Maresca opted to play Abdukodir Khusanov on the right side for the Community Shield game. He played alongside centre-backs Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol and left-back Nico O’Reilly. There was also a start for £116m new arrival Elliot Anderson next to Mateo Kovacic. Losing Nunes was hardly an ideal start for City, and things got even worse shortly after kick-off. City found themselves 1-0 down just 25 seconds into the game in Cardiff as Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori stormed in to slot home the opener. And the Gunners grabbed a second in the 27th minute when Kai Havertz nodded home from close range. Comment now