Manchester City begin their Premier League campaign at Wolves on Saturday as key man Rodri faces a race to be fit.
Rodri missed most of last season and City’s title defence collapsed as a result. The midfielder returned at the Club World Cup this summer, but an injury in City’s last-16 defeat to Al Hilal has put his fitness in doubt.
City left Rodri at home for last week’s only friendly game at sister-club Palermo, and Pep Guardiola admitted he does not expect his star midfielder to be ‘really, really fit’ until September.
Rodri reacts at full-time following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Manchester City and Al-Hilal.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Guardiola also placed doubts on Rodri’s ability to play 90 minutes against Wolves this weekend, however City have been boosted in their attempts to get their holding midfielder available.
Rodri returns to Man City training after injury scare
Ahead of City’s curtain-raiser at Wolves, the club have posted a number of images from training on Wednesday as Pep Guardiola puts his players through their paces.
Among them was Rodri – pictured playing a pass to raise hopes that he could feature against Wolves at Molineux.
Guardiola had said last week: “He has trained better in the last few days. Hopefully after the international break, he will be really fit.
“Hopefully in these games, he can play some minutes, but what is important is that he doesn’t have pain because we don’t want Rodri coming back injured. We will try desperately to avoid that.”
Rodri trains but no sign of Phil Foden yet ahead of Man City opener
While Rodri looks on track to meet Guardiola’s fitness timeline, City face a wait to discover whether Phil Foden will be available against Wolves.
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5Manchester City FC v Feyenoord Rotterdam
Photo by ANP via Getty Images
A knock kept Foden out of the Palermo friendly, with Guardiola saying: “Phil, hopefully [will be fit], it depends on the problem but it’s a long week so hopefully.”
City could be keeping Foden’s fitness status under wraps, while Guardiola will face the media on Friday ahead of the new campaign and is expected to give an update on his squad.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic will definitely miss the start of the season, and Guardiola had also said he doesn’t expect Rodri to be able to play 90 minutes on Saturday evening.