Pep Guardiola has allayed fears that Manchester City could lose Rodri for the rest of the Premier League campaign, although the midfielder is expected to miss Wednesday’s trip to Burnley.
The Spain international, who won the 2024 Ballon d’Or, played a key role in City’s 2-1 victory over title rivals Arsenal on Sunday but was later substituted after picking up a groin injury.
The 29-year-old is now unlikely to be involved at Turf Moor as City look to move top of the table for the first time this year.
However, City have a 12-day gap before their next league fixture at Everton, with an FA Cup semi-final against Southampton also on Saturday.
“I think for tomorrow he will not be ready,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“We’ll see for next games, the semi-final against Southampton or against Everton.”
Rodri’s return to top form following an injury-hit 18 months has been crucial to City’s resurgence in the title race, with the midfielder forming a strong partnership with Bernardo Silva in the centre of the pitch.
“Both are experienced, they have a huge special personality,” added Guardiola.
“They are not young guys anymore, experienced guys, but played a lot of this type of games and know how it must be played. They were exceptional.”
Even if City secure victory and send Burnley down, they would still be level on points with Arsenal with five matches remaining.
Guardiola’s side carry strong momentum into the run-in, but the manager remains cautious about a challenging fixture list that includes trips to Everton and Bournemouth, both still chasing European qualification.
“Both teams know we cannot lose or drop points,” said Guardiola, who is targeting a seventh league title in nine seasons.
“It will be difficult to recover and our calendar is so demanding. The opponents are really tough.”
