Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits he has no idea when his Spanish midfield star will return.
The fears surrounding Rodri’s injury have proven true — the midfielder won’t be back on the pitch just yet, and City will have to face Everton without him. Guardiola also confirmed he’s uncertain about when the player will be fit to return.
Rodri spent most of last season sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. He made a brief comeback late in the campaign, but during the Club World Cup in June–July, he picked up a new knock, which ruled him out of City’s opening Premier League match this season.
Although he returned afterward, knee pain forced him to miss the league clash against Burnley. When he finally got back, he played around an hour in the Champions League match against Monaco.
But just before the international break, misfortune struck again. During City’s 1-0 win over Brentford, Rodri left the pitch in the 22nd minute after feeling discomfort in his leg. Later scans revealed a hamstring issue for the Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder.
The injury kept him out of Spain’s October World Cup qualifiers, though his team managed fine without him — beating Georgia 2-0 and Bulgaria 4-0.
After the Brentford game, Guardiola had said Rodri would likely be out for two to three weeks. But ahead of Saturday’s match against Everton, he admitted the recovery is taking longer than expected.
“There’s no good news. He’s not ready for tomorrow. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
In the Premier League table, City sit fifth with 13 points from seven matches (four wins and one draw), while Arsenal lead with 16 points from the same number of games.
