Rodri came off after 88 minutes in Man City’s 2-1 win vs Arsenal at the weekend
Man City went top of the Premier League with 1-0 win vs Burnley on Wednesday night
Pep Guardiola issues fitness update on Rodri ahead of FA Cup semi-final vs Southampton
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola issued a fitness update on Rodri after his side went top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday night.
The Blues returned to the summit of the table for the first time since August 2025 courtesy of Erling Haaland‘s first-half goal on the counter that extended Manchester City‘s winning run to five games in all competitions.
City are ahead of Arsenal and in first place courtesy of their marginally superior goal difference as they look to win all of their remaining five Premier League games and establish some breathing room between themselves and the Gunners.
Match Report & Player Ratings: Burnley 0-1 Manchester City (Premier League)
A pivotal 2-1 win over Mikel Arteta‘s men helped City and Guardiola cut down their lead to three points at the weekend and the Blues have won their long-held game in hand to climb above the north Londoners ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup commitments.
Rodri sustained what was initially suspected to be a groin injury but what has later emerged to be a calf issue in the closing minutes of Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Arsenal.
The 29-year-old has played regularly since January after foregoing a series of injury-ravaged spells on the sidelines in the last 18 months that have coincided with him approaching the final 12 months of his current deal at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola admitted ahead of the trip to Burnley he was unsure as to when the Ballon d’Or winner could be recalled as Manchester City fans expected to see Nico Gonzalez called upon in the middle of the park against Scott Parker and co.
However, it was academy graduate Nico O’Reilly who moved into midfield alongside Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki as Rayan Ait-Nouri started at left-back against a deep-lying Burnley side who were relegated to the EFL Championship as a result of their narrow loss on Wednesday night.
In a press conference after his side returned to the top of the Premier League for the first time since their 4-0 away win over Wolves on the opening day of the season, Guardiola was asked for an update on Rodri’s fitness.
Rodri ruled out of Burnley clash as Pep Guardiola provides Ruben Dias and John Stones update
“I don’t know yet. We’ll see day by day, we will see,” the Catalan said as it remains to be seen whether Rodri will be fit for Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final tie against Southampton on Saturday.
City need to go on a perfect winning run in the Premier League to avoid any mishaps in the title race, having exceeded expectations in closing down Arsenal’s healthy lead at the top of the table to put themselves in the driving seat of what will be a seventh league title win for the Blues under Guardiola.
Guardiola called Gonzalez on from the bench at Turf Moor and having admitted he had doubts over his team selection against Burnley after Wednesday’s win, the 55-year-old could shuffle his pack at Wembley with one eye on next week’s tricky league trip to Everton.