Enzo Maresca Cites Nico O'Reilly Fitness Concern for Nottingham Forest Following England Squad Exclusion

Enzo Maresca Cites Nico O'Reilly Fitness Concern for Nottingham Forest Following England Squad Exclusion Nico O'Reilly continues to face injury issues despite playing on at club level. O'Reilly has been in action for City in recent weeks as the Blues undergo a difficult period of form, having lost thrice in their last seven games in all competitions. After making a strong start to the 2026-27 Premier League campaign under the stewardship of Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager in June, the Blues have struggled for consistency. After a damaging 1-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion last week, Maresca and co returned to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League in midweek with a narrow 3-2 triumph over a well-drilled RB Leipzig side. City now enter their final game before the November international break, a tricky test against struggling Nottingham Forest as they look to pick up some momentum and keep the pressure on Premier League leaders and reigning champions Arsenal , who went top of the table last week by beating Liverpool at Anfield. With the exception of Antoine Semenyo, who continues to recover from a knee injury sustained in September, Manchester City travelled to Germany with a fully-fit squad but there were eyebrows raised when Nico O'Reilly was absent from the latest England squad announced on Friday morning. In a press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to the City Ground, Maresca confirmed that O'Reilly's exclusion from the latest Three Lions group is owing to concerns over a back issue that has been bothering the 21-year-old since Manchester City 's 1-0 home win over Coventry City in early September. "Since we started, his back [problem] before Coventry, some more problems. Unfortunately he's not 100 percent," Maresca said on Friday morning. "Last game [against RB Leipzig], I really liked him, he was playing very good. This is what we need; just keep him fit because we know how good he is. And no doubt in the future he will be again with the international team."