'Does not feel good' - Man City issue Rodri injury update ahead of Arsenal

5 hours ago 2

Rodri is facing a battle to be fit to start three games in a week as Manchester City head to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola will make a late call on whether to include Rodri in the Manchester City side to face Arsenal on Sunday after he asked to be substituted during the win against Napoli.

The 29-year-old felt uncomfortable during Wednesday's training session but said he was fit enough to start the Champions League opener, and lasted an hour before being replaced by Nico Gonzalez at the Etihad.

Rodri will need to prove he is fit enough to start three games in a week for the first time since injuring his anterior cruciate ligament against Arsenal a year ago and Guardiola admits there is no guarantee the Ballon d'Or winner will be up to the task.

"It’s a good question. I don’t know yet," said Guardiola. "He was so smart [against Napoli]. I know the result was not over. 1-0 is always tricky, but he does not feel good.

"We always try to talk. We try to sustain and feel that it is not comfortable and is better. We see day by day, but it's important to be ready for games.

"Wednesday, for example, the training session, he didn’t feel comfortable, he didn’t train good but said ‘no, no, I'll be fine tomorrow’ and played extraordinarily, like Rodri is, and with him on the pitch we feel more comfortable. But of course, after a tough, tough injury you have to be alert and we will decide on Sunday how he does feel."

Rodri was something of a surprise starter against Napoli as he tries to work his way back to full sharpness. He suffered an injury setback during the Club World Cup in the summer and Guardiola admits he is yet to regain complete trust in his knee.

"He has his own self-confidence. so, so high. The greatest players I ever trained in my managerial career, even as a football player, what I see is here (points to head)," said Guardiola.

"And here [mentality] they are incredible, so confident in themselves and Rodri is that. But the knee is completely different than how you think. And the knee needs this process. As much as he's patient with that, and we are patient with him, he will be back.

"Because he's being there in the middle and knows exactly what will happen, what he has to do. He's on another level. Having him back is important. Try to not do what happened in the States, like he was injured again and injured again and injured again.

"That will be more difficult for all of us and for him to come back at his best."

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.

Read Entire Article