Rodri‘s Fitness Questioned Ahead of Crucial Arsenal Match
Manchester City midfielder Rodri is facing a fitness assessment before Sunday’s Premier League clash against Arsenal, following recent starts against Manchester United and Napoli. The Spaniard has been carefully reintegrated into the team after recovering from an ACL injury, featuring in his club’s last four games and making two substitute appearances for Spain during the September international break.
Manager Pep Guardiola addressed concerns about a potential third consecutive start for Rodri in his pre-Arsenal press conference.”It’s a good question,” Guardiola responded. “I don’t know yet. but he was so smart.I know [against Napoli] the result was not over, and 1-0 is always tricky, but if he doesn’t feel good we try to talk and has to sustain and feel cozy, so that’s better.”
Guardiola added, “We see day by day. The important thing is he arrived two games. On Wednesday, for example, in the training schedule he didn’t feel comfortable, and he didn’t train good, but said ‘no, no. I will be fine tomorrow’ and he played extraordinary like Rodri does. With him on the pitch, we feel more comfortable. But of course he came from a tough injury, and we have to be alert. We will decide on Sunday how he feels.”
Rodri was substituted in the 76th minute against Manchester United, with City leading 3-0, and in the 60th minute against Napoli, when the score was 1-0 and Napoli had a man sent off. This contrasts with the August 27th match against Brighton, where Rodri played the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 defeat and a substitution wasn’t possible.
Given the importance of Sunday’s game, it is anticipated Rodri will start and play as long as physically possible. Both Arsenal and City are expected to utilize their midweek League Cup ties as opportunities to rotate their squads and provide rest for key players, despite recognizing the significance of those matches.
