Champions League: Rodri Returns for Man City vs Monaco but Guardiola Warns on Fitness

VIDEO SHOWS: MANCHESTER CITY TRAINING & COMMENTS FROM MANAGER PEP GUARDIOLA AHEAD OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP PHASE MATCH AWAY TO AS MONACO / AS MONACO TRAINING RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 30, 2025) (UEFA – This content can only be used in the reporting of the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 season – no other use allowed, no commercial use, must on-screen courtesy ” UEFA 2025″ or ” UEFA 2026″, no resales, no sublicensing, no monetisation) 1. MIDFIELDER TAKING SHOT AT GOAL 2. MANAGER PEP GUARDIOLA & ASSISTANT COACH PEP LIJNDERS WATCHING ON DURING TRAINING  3. STRIKER ERLING HAALAND DURING RONDO DRILL  4. DEFENDER RUBEN DIAS & RODRI DURING RONDO DRILL  5. GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA WALKING OUT FOR TRAINING  6. RONDO DRILL / MIDFIELDER PHIL FODEN 7. HAALAND DURING RONDO DRILL  8. TRAINING UNDERWAY 9. GUARDIOLA WATCHING ON FONTVIEILLE, MONACO (SEPTEMBER 30, 2025) (UEFA – This content can only be used in the reporting of the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 season – no other use allowed, no commercial use, must on-screen courtesy ” UEFA 2025″ or ” UEFA 2026″, no resales, no sublicensing, no monetisation) 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, SAYING: REPORTER: “Hi Pep, Rodri’s travelled. Is he fit enough to start?” GUARDIOLA: “Yeah, he feels much better than the game before Burnley.” 11. WHITE FLASH 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, ON RODRI CONSISTENTLY PLAYING THREE GAMES A WEEK, SAYING: “The week before was so demanding with United, Napoli, especially Arsenal, and right now, if you want my feeling right now, he’s not able to play three games a week at a top, top, top, top level. Top intensity, the demanding of the opponents. My feeling, right now he’s not ready, because it needs time.” 13. WHITE FLASH 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, SAYING: “If we go through, and we get better and better, we’ll be a contender, but we have to deserve it. Last season when we started, we were a contender, right? When we started, look at what happened, we finished 23 or 24, so, step-by-step. So, we make the first three points. Last season against Inter we could not do that, we go against a top, top side like Napoli, and now we have this opportunity, you know, you have to win at home all the games, and win one or two games away, you know, to qualify until the first eight, and then we just do step-by-step. So, I don’t think further than that, and after Brentford, international break, and we see. Hopefully, after Brentford we will have many, many players back. (Rayan) Cherki will be back, (Rayan) Ait-Nouri will be back, (Abdukodir) Khusanov will be back, hopefully, Omar (Marmoush) will be back, so, many players will be back, and we’ll be (able) to handle every three days for these competitions. We’ll be top.” LA TURBIE, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 30, 2025) (UEFA – This content can only be used in the reporting of the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 season – no other use allowed, no commercial use, must on-screen courtesy ” UEFA 2025″ or ” UEFA 2026″, no resales, no sublicensing, no monetisation) 15. MIDFIELDER PAUL POGBA TYING BOOT LACES BEFORE WARMING UP AHEAD OF AS MONACO TRAINING  16. POGBA JUGGLING BALL  17. POGBA JUGGLING BALL WITH WINGER ANSU FATI 18. POGBA DURING RONDO DRILL  19. DEFENDER ERIC DIER DURING RONDO DRILL  20. RONDO DRILL  STORY: Rodri is back in Manchester City’s squad for their Champions League group phase game away to AS Monaco, but the midfielder is not ready to play in three matches a week, manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday (September 30). City travel to Monaco with a returning Rodri, who missed their last two matches against Huddersfield and Burnley due to knee pain.  The Ballon d’Or winner missed most of last season with an ACL injury and has struggled to fully shake off his injury since returning to action in May. The 29-year-old had played in three straight matches against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, but with pain then returning to his knee, Guardiola believes that the Spaniard is not yet recovered enough to feature three times a week, adding that getting back to full fitness “needs time”.  (Production: Stefan Haskins) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)