Pep Guardiola says he hopes to have Mateo Kovacic and other senior players back soon so he can rotate his squad with so many big games coming up.
Manchester City kick off our 15th successive season in the competition against Napoli at the Etihad on Thursday night at 20:00 (UK).
The Croatian midfielder won’t be back in time to face the Italian champions while Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, John Stones and Omar Marmoush also missed Sunday’s 3-0 win over Manchester United.
Guardiola is hoping to have a full squad available as soon as possible, particularly after the impact of injuries last season.
“Kova is coming back soon,” he said. “The squad is really good, now we have a problem already with just 16 players, we need them back Ait-Nouri, Cherki, John - when everyone is back we can rotate and team on the bench make a good impact.
“The fatigue will come soon so we need to make everyone involved.”
CIY V NAPOLI | MATCH PREVIEW
Rodri has also started our last two Premier League matches after missing much of last season following a knee operation.
While Guardiola is delighted to have him back, the boss said he wasn’t the only big miss in the 2024/25 campaign as injuries stretched resources.
“I said many times, it was a massive blow but it was not the only one,” he said.
“As much time goes on, I have the feeling it was better, we finished third in the league, FA Cup final.
“Champions League was worse than the Premier League but in the moment we played the defining moment, October, November, December as our worst period with many injuries.
“It was when we made few points, we had 15-16 injuries that no team can sustain. Rodri was a massive absence but not the only reason why.”
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