“There is a chance” – Pep Guardiola makes Rodri fitness admission ahead of FIFA World Cup

Rodri is the best in his position when fit, admits Guardiola

Asked how he approaches setting up City without Rodri, Guardiola pointed to several players who have stepped up in the Spaniard’s absence.

“Rodri, as I said many times, has been almost one year and a half without him, and he’s the best player in his position when he’s fit,” Guardiola said. “The team feels better with him, but now Kova (Mateo Kovacic) is coming back and Nico Gonzalez help us a lot.

“Sometimes you require these type of players or this type of things in some players to do what you have to do. And we have Bernardo (Silva) playing the last game; he was exceptional, really, really exceptional the game we played against Brentford, him. And I’m really pleased with that.”

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Pressed on whether deploying two midfielders in place of Rodri has a knock-on impact further up the pitch, Guardiola pushed back on the wider narrative that his absence is the defining factor in City’s form.

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“Sometimes we’ll play two, sometimes we’ll play just one, sometimes they rotate – it depends. We have really good players in that position,” the Catalan added.

“Last season, Rodri was not there but I said many times, it was not just him, people believe it’s him, no. This season has been three quarters of the season without him and look how good it has been.

“There were many, many other reasons, nothing in particular, especially if we didn’t have many injuries and other subjects. Of course, the team is better with him, that is an obvious reason, but when you are not there we cannot sit and wait for him to come back, you have to move on and we have done it and that is really good.”

Guardiola: We’ll take care of Rodri for the FIFA World Cup

On whether Rodri could miss the FIFA World Cup this summer, Guardiola offered a typically dry response before clarifying his position.

“No. Well, yeah, there is a chance with (Luis) de La Fuente – if he doesn’t select him. That is a chance. But I think we’ll take care incredibly well of him to be in the World Cup,” the 55-year-old said.

The reassurance will be welcomed by Spain supporters as much as City’s own. Rodri was the standout player of Spain‘s 2024 UEFA European Championship triumph and will be central to the plans heading into north and central America this summer.

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Guardiola’s confidence that the 29-year-old will be available for the tournament suggests the current calf issue, while frustrating in the context of the run-in, is not expected to have any long-term consequences.