'We wanted this' - Pep Guardiola says Man City and Rodri made a mistake

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is slowly getting back to the form he showed before his injury, but it has taken longer than it might have done.

Pep Guardiola says Rodri has taken longer to recover from his serious injury last season because he came back too soon. Manchester City brought their Ballon d'Or winner back in the same campaign that he suffered his ACL tear but he has struggled to stay fit since.

A hamstring injury suffered at the Club World Cup caused more setbacks for Rodri, and when he did return in September he started three games in a week, sat out the next two, then started two in four days and was forced off early in the second game and didn't start again for nearly three months.

Having come off the bench for the injured Nico Gonzalez at Sunderland on New Year's Day, Rodri started three days later against Chelsea and has made 11 of the last 12 squads - only missing one through suspension after his red card at Bodo/Glimt. He has started against United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Fulham in the league and is finding his form as City find their way into another Premier League title race.

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There is still some way to go for Rodri to reach his best but the player has come far enough for Guardiola to see that City should not have brought him back as early as they did. "We came back too early," said Guardiola. "Our desire to get him back, him especially, we came back too early and that’s why it was longer. It’s a good lesson. The human being has a process, you know, the recovery. We say three or four days (between games).

"The human being has a time of recovery. There are players that can recover earlier, like Bernardo, for example, or Phil or whatever. And others need more time. But the human being, when you are injured, there is a time that you can do whatever you want - go to the pool, go hiking, go to the whatever you want. He needed proper time to recover.

"It’s 18 months now but he came back earlier, in the [Club] World Cup, and the other games. But the step back, we wanted this earlier and he needed a little more time. And he’s still not at his best but every time, his mood and his training, for example, and he’s playing many, many things. He’s a special player."

Rodri has paired up with Bernardo Silva in midfield in recent matches and City are looking stronger for it, especially with Ruben Dias back from injury and joining Marc Guehi in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Blues wobbled at the start of the year when injuries gripped the squad but as they come out the other side they are well-placed in four competitions.

As much as Guardiola has a new squad to work with this season, that means they are not the trophy-guzzling sides of old, Rodri and Silva are among the experienced veterans who can make that pay off in the big moments. However much City wish they had enjoyed more of Rodri this season, keeping him and Silva fit for the final months could have a huge say in how much success they have - starting with the visit of Newcastle on Saturday night.

"It's massively important. Those two players have been here for nine years and know everything. When I see proper midfield players that know exactly what they have to do to dictate the tempo and many details, it's good. I have to tell them less, especially because of the thousand million meetings and games we have had together. Pre-match, post-match, analysis," said Guardiola.

"Sometimes I feel that when I make meetings now, they say 'Oh Pep, again? You talk on the same subject'. But we have a lot of new players, they have to know exactly what we have to do. Of course there are details.

"How many times have Rodri and Bernardo played against Eddie Howe's Newcastle? They know exactly what they do. Now Gordon is a striker, Woltemade is completely different from Wissa, so there are details but they know exactly."

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