‘That’s why we tried to be gentle’ – Guardiola hopes Rodri injury is not ‘huge’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hopes Rodri will not be sidelined for longer than “two or three weeks” after he hobbled off in the first half of Sunday’s victory over Brentford.

Rodri, who missed the vast majority of last season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), suffered the injury inside the first 20 minutes at Gtech Community Stadium.

The midfielder looked crestfallen as he left the pitch and on Monday he was ruled out of the Spain squad for World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria on 11 and 14 October respectively.

“It’s muscular,” Guardiola said. “Of course I don’t want to lose him [at all] because he is such an important player.

“We tried to take care of him, but it is what it is.”

Rodri has featured just 15 times since the 2023-24 season and missed last weekend’s 5-1 victory over Burnley because of knee pain.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Rodri said: “I felt a little bit in the hamstring – but it seems as though it’s not that much.

“I stretched a bit, like in the final of the Euros [when he had to go off injured]. But the most important thing is it’s not that big.”