Why Rodri is not involved for Man City vs Borussia Dortmund in Champions League game

Manchester City star Rodri was not in the matchday squad to take on Dortmund as Pep Guardiola named a 22-man selection

Rodri dropped out of the Manchester City squad for another matchday as Pep Guardiola named 22 players to take on Dortmund.

The midfielder was not present as the Blues arrived for their Champions League game on Wednesday night to mean he has now missed four of the last five games for City since picking up a hamstring injury at Brentford in early October. He returned to the squad on Sunday and was an unused substitute against Bournemouth but is now out again.

Guardiola confirmed before the game that Rodri "doesn't feel perfect" and so it was decided not to take the risk. The City boss indicated that he would not be out for a while but needs more time to feel good again.

It continues a difficult return for Rodri from the ACL injury that cost him most of last season. He returned earlier than expected in May and went to the Club World Cup with City, but has struggled since with various issues.

Rodri initially hoped to play immediately after the October international break against Everton when he went down against Brentford, but the club have had to be more cautious about his fitness.

"Rodri has been and is an outstanding player," Guardiola said last month. "Everybody knows it.

"But I said to Rodri, and maybe he struggled to understand: it's not about six months or seven months [after the injury]. 'Ah, [after] eight months I'll play and be the Rodri of before.' No.

"Rodri will be good at the World Cup with Spain [next summer]. In the World Cup it will be the best Rodri and next season will be the best Rodri. This season will be how we handle it, step by step.

"It's normal, it was one year on the massage table. The body changes, the rhythm changes. It's a question of time. If he's healthy and works with what he has to do, he will be back."

Guardiola made three changes to the team that beat Bournemouth 3-1 at the weekend for the Champions League test against Dortmund. Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki and Ruben Dias drop out of the starting XI to be replaced by Tijjani Reijnders, John Stones and Savinho.

CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes, Stones, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho, Doku, Haaland

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