Pep Guardiola outlines unexpected Premier League and FA Cup return date for Manchester City star Rodri | OneFootball

Rodri could now return to Premier League action in the closing stages of the ongoing season after stepping up his recovery from an ACL injury, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

The 28-year-old has been an incomprehensible miss for the Premier League champions since hauling off in Manchester City’s titanic 2-2 battle with title rivals Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium back in September.

In the Ballon d’Or winner’s absence, City have slumped to fourth place in the Premier League table – 20 points behind leaders Liverpool – and crashed out of the Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League at the hands of Tottenham and Real Madrid respectively.

Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan have together shouldered a large chunk of the burden left by Rodri’s absence, with City enduring a difficult season riddled by key absences left, right and centre ahead of a major personnel shake-up in the summer transfer window.

Whilst Rodri has been viewed as being ahead of schedule and recovering well, there were doubts over any possible involvement for the 2024 European Championship winner before the end of the ongoing season.

Manager Pep Guardiola knows his star midfielder’s importance now more than ever and will want Rodri to take his time and return in the best shape as possible, in order to get Manchester City back challenging on all fronts next season.

A video posted by the club on its official social media channels last week showed Rodri stepping up individual recovery at the City Football Academy (CFA) after having spent some time in the United States as part of his rehabilitation.

Speaking after his side’s recent FA Cup fifth round win over Plymouth Argyle, Pep Guardiola confirmed that whilst it remains unlikely that Rodri plays any significant role in the remainder of the season, the Spaniard could be back in first-team action in the latter stages.

“The fans must know that they are not the only ones who are excited. They have to know it,” Guardiola said over the weekend. “It’s five-and-a-half, six months (out) after the international break.”

He continued, “But it’s one step at a time. Still he (Rodri) is not close, I would say. But he’s touching the ball and was in the locker room making touches with the players. He feels confident, more happy.

“I couldn’t expect (it) before, but I think maybe before the end of the season, not even in the (Club) World Cup, in the Premier League – maybe he is going to help us.”

Asked if Rodri could feature in an FA Cup semi-final, should Manchester City reach the last-four of the competition, Pep Guardiola added, “I don’t know. Quarter-finals we’ll see.

“We have to deserve to be in Wembley for the semi-finals first. We don’t have to make stupid decisions to come back weeks earlier and (sustain) set backs. But yeah, it looks good.”

Manchester City will aim to build on recent wins over Tottenham and Plymouth Argyle when they visit fellow top-four hopefuls Nottingham Forest away from home in the Premier League this weekend.