Manchester City midfielder Rodri will not make his first appearance since the Uefa Euro 2024 final when Manchester City start their Premier League title defence at Chelsea on Sunday, Cityzens manager Pep Guardiola has said.
The influential 28-year-old was substituted at half-time during Spain’s 2-1 win over England on July 14 and is one of several international players who have not featured for City during pre-season.
“He is in training,” said Guardiola, adding that he was uncertain about Rodri’s condition and there was “no chance” of him playing at Stamford Bridge (4.30pm BST). “I haven’t seen him yet. He feels good. We’ll have to see how he feels after training.”
Rodri scored and provided an assist in City’s opening 3-0 win at Burnley last season and started 34 of their 38 top-flight matches in 2023-24.
⛔️🇦🇷 Pep Guardiola denies reports on Claudio Echeverri joining Man City earlier than planned after Bobb injury.
“No idea about that. I didn’t talk with Txiki about Claudio Echeverri”. pic.twitter.com/SSzy9SIpqg
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 16, 2024
📰 Table Of Contents
Man City vs Chelsea: ‘Season is long’
City’s players who were involved at the finals, including the likes of England internationals Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, returned to training at the start of this week.
“I would love to give more time but it is what it is,” said Guardiola. “I demand the best on Sunday against Chelsea. When the players are fitter and better, they have to be better.
“I don’t know what will happen. Everyone knows we aren’t in the best condition but we have a desire to do well. There are a lot of teams right now that aren’t perfect.
“What I have learned is that the season is so long. You have to be ready physically and mentally. For that, you need rest. We try to do our best in the condition we are in. The players that are here will have to do their best.”
Oscar Bobb injury
Guardiola confirmed that Kalvin Phillips is on the brink of joining newly-promoted Ipswich Town and said he was “very sad” at the prospect of Oscar Bobb’s absence for “three to four months” with a fractured leg.
Defender Joao Cancelo, who has not played for City since January 2023, could be back in first-team contention following loan spells at Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
PEP 💬 [On Oscar Bobb’s injury] It was in the training session. Unfortunately, he had a big impact and got injured. He is having surgery this afternoon. Hopefully, it will go well and he will be back in 3/4 months. We are so sad for him – not because of his incredible pre-season,… pic.twitter.com/ooVdigXuVG
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 16, 2024
“He’s training with us,” said Guardiola. “Maybe [he will] stay, maybe go on loan. He loves to play football and train, we will see. In training, we say hi and we talk.
“What is going to happen depends on his agent. We will treat him like all the other players – with respect and [aiming to] do the best with the amount of quality he has. I have never doubted his quality, but we will have to see what happens.”
City host Ipswich in their first home game on August 24 (3pm) and travel to West Ham, where Phillips spent the second half of last season on loan, on August 31 (5.30pm).
