Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that star midfielder Rodri will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash against Everton at the Etihad Stadium.
The 29-year-old has been struggling for fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury last season, playing the full 90 minutes in just two of his seven appearances in all competitions this term.
After playing for just over an hour in Man City’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Monaco at the beginning of October, Rodri was handed another start just four days later in 1-0 Premier League win at Brentford before the international break.
However, the midfielder was forced off in the 22nd minute after tweaking his hamstring and he subsequently withdrew from the Spain squad ahead of two World Cup qualifiers this month.
Rodri was optimistic when discussing his injury after the match and stated that he ‘hopes to be available in two weeks’ time’ when Man City return to Premier League action against Everton.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri before his side's game against Brentford, on October 5, 2025
Rodri ruled out as Guardiola confirms Kovacic return
However, Guardiola has since confirmed that Saturday’s game will come too soon for Rodri and he is unsure when they midfielder will return to first-team action.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola said: "No news. He is not ready for tomorrow. I don't know when he will be back."
In the absence of Rodri, Nico Gonzalez is a strong candidate to operate in a deep-lying midfield role, while Mateo Kovacic is now in contention to make his first Premier League appearance of the season.
Kovacic, who underwent Achilles surgery in the summer, is yet to play a single minute for Man City this term and also missed their Club World Cup campaign, but he returned to action on international duty with Croatia last weekend and played for 69 minutes in a 3-0 win over Gibraltar in World Cup qualifying.
“He started 50-60 minutes, step-by-step,” Guardiola said on Kovacic. “He needs to give us quality moments, quality time and quality minutes. Step-by-step but it’s important he’s back.”
Manchester City's Omar Marmoush on August 23, 2025
Marmoush, Ait-Nouri on verge of Man City return from injury
Meanwhile, Man City have been boosted by the news that Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are set for an imminent first-team return, but it remains to be seen whether they will be involved against Everton.
Marmoush has missed City's seven matches since sustaining a knee injury on international duty with Egypt in September, but Citizens supporters received a boost earlier this week when the attacker was seen without crutches when celebrating Egypt’s qualification for the World Cup.
As for Ait-Nouri, he has also been sidelined for seven games with an apparent ankle issue, but the left-back - along with Marmoush - returned to first-team training earlier this week.
Providing an update on both players, Guardiola said: “They trained yesterday and are much better. They’re close to being back.”
There was no mention of defender Abdukodir Khusanov at Guardiola’s press conference, with the defender missing the last four games with a calf issue, and a late call is set to be made on his availability this weekend.
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