MANCHESTER: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Arsenal due to fitness concerns in what is sure to be a blockbuster clash.
City will arrive in North London on a wave of momentum after back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Napoli, but Rodri came off after an hour against the Serie A leaders in Thursday’s Champions League match, raising concerns about his fitness.
Guardiola said the Spain midfielder will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game when asked if he would play.
“I don’t know yet, but he was so smart (to request a substitution against Napoli on Thursday). We’ll see, day-by-day,” Guardiola added.
“The training (on Wednesday), he didn’t feel comfortable, but said, ‘No, no, I will be fine, and he played extraordinarily. But, of course, he comes from a tough, tough injury, he has to be alert and we will decide on Sunday how he feels.”
The 29-year-old Spaniard spent most of last season sidelined after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, and then suffered a groin injury at the Club World Cup.
While City and Arsenal are touted as potential title contenders, Guardiola cautioned that it was too early in the campaign for Sunday’s fixture to give any pointers.
“Listen, it’s the fifth game of the season, come on,” he said. “(Former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson said in the Premier League, you have to, after Boxing Day, stay close to the top four,” he added. “After that, you can think about it.
“In the six Premier Leagues (titles Guardiola has won at City), I think four or five, we were in December, January, behind Liverpool and behind Arsenal and at the end we won it.”
While City appear to be rediscovering their rhythm after they were rattled by early defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton, Guardiola said Arsenal will be a huge challenge on Sunday.
“Mikel (Arteta) is an extraordinary manager and they increased the squad for these (last) four, five transfer windows,” he said. “So it’s an unbelievable squad. It is one of the toughest opponents you can find right now in Europe.”
The Spaniard said his main concern was improving on last season’s third-place finish.
“To see the team growing up, that is only my concern right now, to see the team make a step forward every day,” he said. “We’re not going to win the Premier League on Sunday. We’re not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday.”
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Rodri a question mark for City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal
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Rodri a question mark for City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal
- City will arrive in North London on a wave of momentum after back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Napoli
- Guardiola said the Spain midfielder will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game when asked if he would play
McIlory calls for Australian Open rescheduling in bid to lure stronger field
- The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week
Rory McIlroy, the world’s second-ranked golfer, has called on organizers of the Australian Open to reschedule the event in an effort to attract a stronger international field to the tournament in the future.
The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week and finished in a tie for 14th, eight shots behind winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There’s still a ways to go.
“I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it’s hard. There’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.
“There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.
“Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”
The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old.
In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the US in September.
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” he said. “I played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer, with the Irish Open, then the Ryder Cup and then I’ve been globetrotting all over the last couple of months.”
“I’m excited to have little bit of downtime, finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much.”
“Looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back on about what an unbelievable year it’s been.”
The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week and finished in a tie for 14th, eight shots behind winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There’s still a ways to go.
“I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it’s hard. There’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.
“There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.
“Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”
The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old.
In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the US in September.
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” he said. “I played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer, with the Irish Open, then the Ryder Cup and then I’ve been globetrotting all over the last couple of months.”
“I’m excited to have little bit of downtime, finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much.”
“Looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back on about what an unbelievable year it’s been.”
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