Lyon’s Moussa Niakhaté and Ernest Nuamah unavailable for clash with Real Sociedad, hoped to return against Brest

Lyon’s Moussa Niakhaté and Ernest Nuamah unavailable for clash with Real Sociedad, hoped to return against Brest Olympique Lyonnais will have to do without Moussa Niakhaté (30) and Ernest Nuamah (23) as they attempt to pull off a major upset away at Real Sociedad this Thursday, on matchday four of the Europa League group stage. “They’ve suffered muscle strains,” the club’s interim manager, Jorge Maciel, revealed at a press conference. These two absences could even be extended until the winter break. “We hope to have them back for Sunday’s match in Brest. We’re waiting for an update; we don’t yet know if they’ll be fit or not. We’ll see how things are progressing when we return to Lyon,” concluded the 41-year-old coach. Both Niakhaté and Nuamah, who are key starters for the Lyon side, may therefore not return to Ligue 1 action before the end of November. This is another blow for Les Gones, who are already without Loïs Openda (26), Pavel Šulc (25), Mohamed Ouedraogo (23) and Tyler Morton (24), all of whom are injured and whose returns – apart from Openda’s – are not expected for several weeks… or even months. GFFN | Léo Aschi