Pep Guardiola has admitted Rodri limped off with a fresh injury complaint in Manchester City’s defeat to Al Hilal.
On what was just his fifth appearance since returning from a serious knee injury which kept him sidelined for almost all of the 2024–25 season, Rodri came off the bench shortly after half-time but managed a total of 47 minutes before being forced off in extra-time of the 4–3 defeat.
The Ballon d’Or winner’s return had been crucial to City’s improvement this summer but Guardiola has now admitted the team are sweating over his fitness once again.
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“We have to see Rodri, he complained about his situation, but we need time to come back,” Guardiola told reporters.
The City manager was also quizzed on his decision to withdraw star striker Erling Haaland for extra-time, again admitting the Norway international did not feel fit enough to continue playing.
“He was very tired, he asked me to substitute him,” Guardiola revealed.
Despite the disappointing nature of the defeat, Guardiola insisted there were plenty of positives to take from the result as he prepares to try and mount a Premier League title challenge in the 2025–26 campaign.
“It is too early to say,” Guardiola said when asked if City can compete again next season. “But there have been so many good things I did not see in the [recent] past. The relationship between the players, our captain [Bernardo Silva] helped a lot and the standards from our staff.
“I felt we were happy here, the training sessions have been really good. [But] Al Hilal has a lot of quality. They are a complete team that can run and run. I have a big opinion of them but we [still] did a good game.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Rocked by Rodri Injury Setback in Club World Cup Exit.