Man City gain another Rodri option as club issue bullish response

Matheus Nunes is ready to help 'fill the void' left by Rodri's injury with the Manchester City midfielder able to call on years of experience for Sporting.

Nunes showcased some of the defensive side of his game against Watford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, with the former Wolves player dropping back to help Nico O'Reilly when the Championship side pushed forward. He also scored his first goal for the club with a well-struck effort in the first half and was relieved to get off the mark.

City are planning to be without Rodri for a long time. Pep Guardiola has challenged the team to find a way to win without him and Nunes is happy to be part of the solution as he backed the team to succeed as they did last season without key players.

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"At Wolves I played more as a winger and last year here I played more as a 10 but when I played for Sporting I always played in the double pivot so I'm used to every position now," he said. "I try to help the team every time the coach puts me on the field but I know the other guys are all ready as well because we have so much quality in the team.

"We're going to have to fill the void because it's a massive loss but whoever is on the pitch is going to perform well. We have shown that if any player is out we have another one that is ready and has top quality to play.

"Last year it happened with Erling and Kevin and we still managed to win. This year, I know we will be the same."

Nunes had a difficult first season at the club after switching from Wolves late in the summer transfer window, failing to nail down a