Rayan Ait-Nouri Injury Update
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s Saturday was supposed to be a big one: August 23, 2025, first home start for Manchester City, full stadium, big hopes after that roaring win at Wolves the previous week. Instead, things got messy fast. He was down clutching his ankle inside the first quarter of an hour, right in front of the South Stand, after what looked like a nothing collision with Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus. You know those moments where the crowd half gasps, half shrugs because it looks innocuous but the physios are sprinting? That’s exactly what happened.
On Twitter, @cityreport_ shared an update that Rayan Ait-Nouri came off with an apparent ankle issue, with Nathan Aké replacing him.
The physios came on, checked his ankle—both medial and lateral ligaments, I overheard one ankle-nerd in my row mutter—and then, after a couple of minutes of hobbling about like a guy who just stepped on a Lego, Rayan signaled to the bench. Nathan Ake threw off his bib so fast it could’ve started a fire. Etihad crowd had that uneasy, compassionate moan. You could hear someone behind me mutter, “There goes my FPL week,” which actually might’ve been me talking to myself, sadly.
Turns out, Ait-Nouri’s got an ankle sprain. Most sensible guesses—and let’s be real, everyone’s a medical expert in the post-game threads—say if it’s minor, he’ll be out for 1-3 weeks. The timing, though, is miserable for City and doubly so for Algeria’s September international call-up. Guy’s just fought his way into the lineup after summer transfer drama (he arrived from Wolves, big hopes and all that) and now a stupid twist derails his rhythm.
On Twitter, @FPLPhysioo posted an injury update on Ait Nouri. He explained that the third most-owned defender in FPL went off after 22 minutes following a duel with Kudus. Physios tested his medial and lateral ligaments, and if it’s just a minor ankle sprain, the expected recovery time is 1–3 weeks.
Classic football luck—the day after you’re a hero, the grass bites back. Guardiola didn’t make any grand pronouncements right away, but the mood in post-match pressers hovered somewhere between “not catastrophic, but not sunshine and daisies”. With Josko Gvardiol still banged up and Nathan Ake slotting in shakily, City fans are watching every Instagram story for updates. As for Rayan, he left the field looking gutted, maybe with a few tears mixed in with sweat. Not the first time he’s had to battle back from injury—the guy’s ankle really ought to get awarded its own player profile at this point.
But football is mostly waiting—waiting for ankles to heal, waiting for lineups, waiting for little clues before the next fixture. For now, the only thing City fans, fantasy players, and Algerian supporters can do is hope the sprain is not a “classic 6-week job.” Honestly? I’m just hoping the kid gets back on the pitch soon—the left side of City’s defense is way more fun with Rayan bombing forward and giving Guardiola another reason to rant about tactical fluidity.
