Manchester City are looking to build on their 2-0 win over Chelsea by beating Ipswich Town this weekend in the Premier League.
Manchester City put in a good performance on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, serving up a reminder to those who believe Arsenal are going to win the title this season.
Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic were on target for the visitors, who had a number of key players from last season on the bench.
The England players who went to Euro 2024 all started on the bench, with only Phil Foden getting minutes against Chelsea. He came on at half-time to replace the injured Savinho.
One man who was nowhere to be seen against Chelsea was Rodri.
Rodri had been due to return to training last week but so far, he has not been seen with the rest of the squad.
Rodri still hasn’t returned to training for Man City
Despite not being able to call on Rodri, Pep still got a good performance from his team on Sunday.
There was an especially good display from Mateo Kovacic, who replaced the Spaniard directly at the base of midfield.
City had issues last season when Rodri was unavailable through suspension, and it is clear how influential he is in this team.
Fans are hoping that will return soon, but as of today, he has not yet returned to first-team training.
Ben Ransom of Sky Sports was present earlier for a training session at the CFA and reported that there was still no sign of Rodri. But Savinho was there, after coming off against Chelsea.
He wrote on X: “Savinho training as normal for Manchester City today. Foden & Walker given round of applause from their teammates after PFA Awards last night
“No sign of Rodri.”
Rodri may not yet have returned to training, but he was in attendance for the PFA awards last night. He was nominated for PFA Players’ Player of the Year, but lost out to his teammate Foden. He was, however, named in the Team of the Season.
While there, Rodri hailed Foden, saying: “For me, he has the ability and he’s able to be the best English player in my opinion when he finishes his career.”
Kovacic form will ease Pep’s concerns
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
So Rodri still hasn’t returned to training and this is a slight concern.
Obviously, he went off with an injury during the Euro 2024 final, and the club have been quite tight-lipped about it.
Hopefully he will return soon, because he is obviously an integral player. We saw last season what happened when he couldn’t play.
That said, Kovacic did very well against Chelsea on Sunday, which will likely ease any fears Pep may have ahead of Ipswich.
It could also be that Ilkay Gundogan is a part of the squad on Saturday, with his sensational return to the club now close to being completed.
