A frustrating start to the season has continued on international duty for a Manchester City full-back

A frustrating start to the season has continued on international duty for a Manchester City full-back Unfortunately, Rayan Ait-Nouri has found himself on the periphery of the Manchester City squad so far this season. The Algerian international has only made two appearances in all competitions. His only start for Enzo Maresca’s side was in their 5-0 Carabao Cup third-round tie win over Norwich City. Despite not playing regularly for City this season, Rayan Ait-Nouri was called up to the Algerian squad for their matches during the current international break. However, Ait-Nouri has been sent home after his frustration got the better of him during Algeria’s recent 3-1 win over Zambia in their AFCON Qualifying Group I fixture. Rayan Ait-Nouri has been sent home early from international duty by Algeria. As Algeria went on to beat Zambia 3-1, Rayan Ait-Nouri was named on the bench by Algerian manager Brahim Hemdani. Algeria took a second minute lead against Zambia. However, Zambia would equalise in the 57th minute. Before Zambia equalised, Rayan Ait-Nouri was asked to warm-up by his manager, as reported by Luke Power for the Daily Mail . However, following Zambia’s goal, Ait-Nouri was ordered to sit back on the bench by his manager. This triggered a furious outburst by the Manchester City left-back. As per Luke Power’s report, Ait-Nouri couldn’t be calmed down by his teammates or the Algerian staff. As a result of his outburst, Rayan Ait-Nouri has been dismissed from his international duty and will return to Manchester City. The Algerian Football Federation released a statement on Rayan Ait-Nouri being dismissed from international which was relayed by TalkSport . It said: “ The national coach, Mr Brahim Hemdani, decided this Saturday to release the player Rayan Ait-Nouri from the current training camp of the national team. ” “ The Algerian international will return to his club, Manchester City. ” How Rayan Ait-Nouri can more often for Manchester City doesn’t seem clear. Rayan Ait-Nouri has endured a frustrating beginning to the 2026-27 season. He hasn’t been able to get on the pitch for Manchester City so far this season. Enzo Maresca has preferred to use Josko Gvardiol at left-back, and Nico O’Reilly is seemingly the other choice of Maresca for the role. Instead, Ait-Nouri has been utilised as a left winger by Maresca. However, the Algerian international faces stiff competition to break into the position with Antoine Semenyo having started the season strongly. Jeremy Doku has also returned from injury, and that will likely mean that Ait-Nouri faces an even more difficult path to find minutes at Manchester City. Unfortunately, Rayan Ait-Nouri’s difficult and frustrating start to the 2026-27 has continued with Algeria. The Manchester City left-back has been sent home early from international duty. It is up to Ait-Nouri to force himself into contention for more minutes at City. How he does this isn’t immediately clear as competition is fierce for spots in the positions that Ait-Nouri plays.