Pep Guardiola explains Rodri’s absence against Burnley ahead of AS Monaco clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained Rodri’s absence from the matchday squad for his side’s 5-1 thumping of Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

City maintained their fine run of post-international break form with another convincing triumph as a brace from Erling Haaland, a brace of own goals from Burnley defender Maxime Esteve and a strike from Matheus Nunes sealed all three points for the Blues at the Etihad Stadium.

The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last time out in the Premier League, when Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma salvaged a point for the Gunners and canceled out Erling Haaland’s ninth-minute opener.

Guardiola’s men claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in midweek with goals from Phil Foden and Savinho booking Manchester City’s place in the Carabao Cup fourth-round.

City climbed up to third place in the Premier League table with their best win of the 2025-26 season, with results elsewhere in the division also helping close down the margin to title holders Liverpool, who suffered a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea lost at home to Brighton and Manchester City – having made a slow start to their league campaign with losses to Tottenham and Brighton in their opening trio of games – secured a much-needed comfortable triumph over Burnley upon a return to the Etihad Stadium for Kyle Walker.

Rodri started for Manchester City against Arsenal – the Ballon d’Or winner’s fourth consecutive start in midfield for the Blues in nearly a year – and was expectedly given a rest in midweek when Guardiola made nine changes to his starting XI for the Carabao Cup third-round.

However, eyebrows were raised when lineups were released prior to Saturday’s 15:00 UK kick-off when Rodri was missing entirely from the matchday squad and Nico Gonzalez was chosen in the defensive midfield position.

Manchester City confirmed shortly after lineups were out that Rodri was not fit to face the Clarets, with doubts emerging over a possible recurrence of the knee injury the 29-year-old suffered at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in the summer that kept him on the sidelines till August.

Guardiola confirmed that Rodri’s knee has been an issue of late after City’s 5-1 win, with the Spaniard carrying “a pain in his knee” and doubtful to face AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League next week, when speaking to BBC Radio Manchester. “He (Rodri) said to us that he was not ready to play,” Guardiola said.

Rodri spent nearly the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign on the treatment table after rupturing his ACL against Arsenal in September 2024, only making his return to the pitch against Bournemouth in May – before the injury setback at the Club World Cup.

Manchester City cannot afford to have a hit-and-miss Rodri as they navigate a turbulent time for the club on the pitch following a major rejig of the first-team squad in the summer – and Guardiola will be very wary of rushing his best player back to the pitch as Rodri recovers from his latest knee issue.