Manchester City will begin their 24/25 Premier League campaign on Sunday when they face off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It could be a tricky test for Pep Guardiola’s squad to open the new season. Pep Guardiola confirmed today that they will have to take on Enzo Maresca’s side without Rodri. Manchester City’s most important player will miss Sunday’s game, the City manager confirmed earlier today.
Speaking during his pre-game press conference ahead of Sunday’s game Guardiola was asked about Rodri’s availability for Manchester City’s first Premier League game of the season. He told the media that Rodri hasn’t trained yet since arriving at the club on Wednesday after his successful summer with Spain. Guardiola told the media: “He had zero training sessions with us, he’s not ready.” The City manager added there was no chance of City’s most important player being in his squad for Sunday’s match. When asked if Rodri could be in his squad for Sunday Guardiola simply answered: “No chance.”
Guardiola was also asked about the chances of Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones featuring against Chelsea on Sunday. He told the media that the trio had returned to the club fit and ready to go but he was unsure how many minutes they would play on Sunday. He said when asked about the trio’s status: “I don’t know. Just two, three training sessions. They arrived fit. In professional world the players take care even in the holidays. So we’ll see. Today, tomorrow and Sunday we will see the lineup. But I’m pretty sure they are ready maybe not for 90 minutes, maybe yes maybe for a few minutes.”
It is no surprise to see Rodri out of Sunday’s match. He picked up an injury during Spain’s 2-1 European Championship final win over England. Given it is the beginning of the new season there is no need to rush City’s most important player back from injury. However, it is welcome news to see that City’s English trio of John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden could all feature on Sunday.
