Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shared what he plans to do with Rodri over the coming weeks as the club continues to manage his return from injury.
Rodri is currently recovering from a groin setback sustained during Manchester City’s FIFA Club World Cup last-16 defeat to Al Hilal in June.
Rodri spent most of the 2024-25 season sidelined due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last September.
With that in mind, Man City are being especially cautious over Rodri’s fitness and, speaking ahead of the Wolverhampton Wanderers clash, Guardiola gave some more details.
'Pep' Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, celebrates with Rodri after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on August 19, 2023
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Pep Guardiola hints Rodri will not be starting for Manchester City this month
Man City get their Premier League campaign under way with a trip to Wolves on Saturday evening, and Pep Guardiola confirmed that Rodri will be travelling.
However, the City boss suggested that Rodri would be getting some minutes here and there, with a view to ensuring he’s fully fit after the international break.
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“Rodri is so soon to come back but it is important his knee is perfect,” Guardiola told the City media team.
“He played Juventus after six weeks in his leg and we try to avoid that now he needs to play minutes in training sessions.
“What we want for him is to come back and to take a step back that would not be good. In this dynamic you can’t get rhythm, it is so demanding.
“He’s made good training sessions and tomorrow he’s travelling. We will decide how many minutes.
“Hopefully he can play minutes in next games then after the international break every three days he can help us.”
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Who could fill in for Rodri vs Wolves
Rodri is almost certain to start the Wolves game on the bench, but Guardiola has a number of options available to fill in for the “amazing” player from the off.
Nico O’Reilly and Nico Gonzalez started in the deeper midfield positions against Palermo, while Tijjani Reijnders and Ilkay Gundogan played the second half. Rico Lewis is another option.
It’s hard to guess who Guardiola will deploy in midfield against Wolves, but having so many good options is obviously a good thing.