Treble Hero Rodri’s Struggles: Guardiola Addresses Fitness Concerns

10 August- Kolkata, West Bengal: Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, revealed that Rodri, last year’s Ballon d’Or winner and part of the side’s treble-winning group, does not fully fit after the September international break.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner and part of the 2024 Euro-winning squad with Spain missed most of the season last year due to ligament injuries, and City was unable to mount a convincing defence of their Premier League title without him.

The 29-year old Spanish maestro fought his way back into the main lineup back in FIFA Club World Cup but later suffered a gruesome injury in the side’s defeat to the Saudi club Al Hilal by 4-3.

Pep Guardiola on Rodri’s fitness problem

The Catalan manager highlighted on Rodri’s fitness problem and stated that “Rodri’s getting better but he had a big injury in the last game against Al-Hilal and for the last five or six weeks.”

He further added, “He is currently training and has improved in the last two or three days. We hope the international break will be when he is really, really fit. Hopefully, he can play some minutes in the games (prior to that), but the important thing is for him not to have pain because we don’t want him to come back injured.”

However, the Sky Blues are already trying to bring back their star midfielders Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic into the main squad after both of them, along with Rodri, missed a friendly match against Palermo in Sicily.

Before the September internationals, City will play Tottenham and Brighton after their Premier League opener against Wolves next weekend.