Rodri not capable of playing 3 games a week, says Pep as he missed the Burnley win but available for Monaco.
Pep Guardiola claims that Rodri is unable to handle the demands of Manchester City’s demanding schedule while he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury. The Spanish midfielder said he was not fit to play in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Burnley, but he will be available to play in the Champions League against Monaco on Wednesday.
Rodri’s injury against Arsenal a year ago caused City’s form to crumble last season. Guardiola doesn’t want to overburden him at this point and put the midfield player at risk of the issue happening again.
“He is not injured but in the tendon he has a difficulty,” Guardiola said. “The week before was so demanding with [Manchester] United, Napoli and especially Arsenal and right now he’s not able to play three games in a week at a top, top, top level – top intensity, demanding opponents.
“My feeling right now is he is not ready because he needs time. This type of injury, it is minimum one year and after that you start. Be patient and he dictates. If he feels not good, it’s better to rest.”
The former Monaco midfielder Bernardo Silva, who was named captain this summer following Kevin De Bruyne’s departure, will captain City, who defeated Napoli to start their Champions League campaign.
“Man City was so successful in the last eight years not because one captain was really good but because we have a group of great leaders,” Silva said. “Obviously as the first captain you have to make sure some things don’t happen – to create that environment but what we’ve seen is a group of great characters.
“That is what you need. My job now is to try to create that energy, that chemistry back as a group of captains – me, Rúben, Rodri, Erling – so people behave in the right way in training and in games, arrive on time to training, train properly, be in good condition, take care of themselves. That is our job.”