Man City hit with Rodri injury setback ahead of Chelsea opener / Photo: JAVIER SORIANO - AFP
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
-
CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
-
British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
-
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
-
Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
-
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
-
Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
-
New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
-
Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
-
Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
-
ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
-
Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
-
Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
-
India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
-
Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
-
Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
-
The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
-
Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
-
Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
-
Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
-
Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
-
Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
-
Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
-
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
-
Survey Finds Majority of Brits Use Polite Language with AI Assistants
-
Krone.at Forum Launches New Design and Stricter Community Guidelines
Man City hit with Rodri injury setback ahead of Chelsea opener
Manchester City will be without Rodri for the start of their Premier League title defence after Pep Guardiola revealed the Spain midfielder has been ruled out of Sunday's opener against Chelsea.
The influential 28-year-old 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.
While England trio Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker hope to feature at Stamford Bridge after their post-Euros break, Rodri has not been cleared to return to action.
Asked on Friday if Rodri could be involved against Chelsea, Guardiola told reporters: "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."
Rodri's absence is an early blow to City's bid to win a fifth successive Premier League title.
City would love to make a strong start to their title defence in west London, but Guardiola admitted fitness issues could hamper them on the opening weekend.
Foden, Stones and Walker are not fully fit after only returning to training in midweek following their holidays.
"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."
Bobb will have surgery on Friday to repair a fractured bone in his leg following a non-contact training ground incident on Wednesday.
Guardiola expects the young Norway winger to be sidelined for up to four months.
"Unfortunately, he had a big impact and got injured," Guardiola said. "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."
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.
"Maybe or maybe not, we will see," the Spaniard said. "I'm really pleased with the squad I have, we will see. I'm set.
"We will see what happens in the market. We can continue to January in that way or maybe we will add some players."
F.Ramirez--AT