Manchester City’s Rodri and Rayan Cherki return to training | OneFootball

Manchester City were given a boost on Tuesday as both Rodri (29) and Rayan Cherki (22) returned to first-team training, providing Pep Guardiola with key reinforcements ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Monaco.

As reported by Sky Sports, Rodri, who sat out City’s 3-1 win over Burnley at the weekend, was the first to step onto the training pitch. The Spain international has been carefully managed after feeling discomfort in the same knee that sidelined him for much of last season with an ACL injury. Guardiola confirmed the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is in contention to start in midweek, though the club will continue to monitor his fitness closely.

“Yeah, he feels much better than the game before, Burnley,” Guardiola said. “It’s about day-by-day how he feels. He didn’t feel so good then, but he feels better now, and we’ll see on Wednesday.”

Cherki’s return also comes as a timely boost. The £34m summer signing from Lyon, who scored on his debut, has been absent since limping off in August’s defeat to Tottenham. The French playmaker has shown flashes of promise and will be eager to reignite his City career after a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

However, the champions were without Abdukodir Khusanov, Rayan Aït-Nouri, and Omar Marmoush, who continue to recover from longer-term issues.

With Monaco arriving at the Etihad and domestic rivals applying pressure in the Premier League, Guardiola will be relieved to have two of his most creative outlets back in training at a pivotal stage of the campaign.

GFN | Finn Entwistle