Premier League Champions Manchester City get their title defence underway with a fixture against London side Chelsea on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola, who led City to an unprecedented fourth title on the bounce, will be without star Spanish midfielder Rodri for the opener against the Blues after the 28-year-old was ruled out of the high-profile game.
Rodri has only just returned to training after being forced off at half-time during Spain’s 2-1 win against England in last month’s Euro 2024 final.
When quizzed about the midfielder’s availability ahead of the PL opener, Guardiola said, “No chance.”
“He is in training. I don’t know, I haven’t seen him yet. He feels good. We’ll have to see how he feels after training,” the Spaniard said.
The English trio of Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker, who returned to training midweek following their post-Euro holidays, might feature in the game but haven’t been declared fully match-fit.
“I’m pretty sure they won’t be ready for 90 minutes, maybe yes, maybe 15 minutes,” Guardiola said.
“The important thing is everybody is back and except for Oscar (Bobb) the rest are OK.”
Oscar Bobb, who demonstrated his abilities on the ball towards the end of the last season and produced yet another dazzling display during his side’s win over arch-rivals Manchester United on Saturday in the FA Community Shield Finals, will have surgery on Friday to repair a fractured bone in his leg following a training ground he sustained recently.
“Unfortunately, he had a big impact and got injured,” Guardiola revealed.
“He is having surgery this afternoon. Hopefully, it will go well and he will be back in three or four months. We are so sad for him,” the Spanish genius added.
Bobb’s setback follows the recent departure of Argentina forward Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid and Guardiola said he could be forced into the transfer market for replacements.
City, who roped in Brazilian winger Savinho, had to relinquish Argentine striker Julian Alvarez, who completed a move to Atletico Madrid citing more playtime. When asked if that would force the PL champions’ hands in the transfer market, Guardiola stated, “Maybe or maybe not, we will see.”
“I’m really pleased with the squad I have, we will see. I’m set,” the 53-year-old added.
“We will see what happens in the market. We can continue to January in that way or maybe we will add some players,” Guardiola concluded.
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