Manchester City have been dealt a fresh blow with Pep Guardiola confirming that Rodri will not be fully fit until at least mid-September following a setback in his recovery. Notably, Rodri missed most of the last season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Rodri’s importance to City has only grown over the years, with Guardiola openly acknowledging the team’s struggles in his absence last year. <\/p>
In Rodri’s absence, City were knocked out early in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup last season. They also suffered a stunning FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace. Meanwhile, a shock exit to Al Hilal in the Club World Cup last-16<\/a> was a tough pill to swallow for Guardiola’s men. <\/p> The Spain international battled back from the ACL injury to feature at the FIFA Club World Cup. However, the Ballon d’Or Winner picked up a groin problem in the last-16 clash against Al-Hilal. As a result, Rodri has been limited to mostly individual training since the squad’s return from summer break. The midfielder has taken part in just two full sessions this week. <\/p> Guardiola said,<\/p> “Rodri is getting better but he had a big injury in the last game against Al Hilal. He has trained better in the last few days, hopefully after the international break is when he will be really fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hopefully in these games he can play some minutes but what is important is he doesn’t have pain because we don’t want this Rodri coming back injured. We try desperately to avoid that. He has been training the last two sessions with us and that’s good.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>Rodri Will Be Fit After the International Break: Guardiola<\/h2>
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