Pep Guardiola issues Rodri and Manchester City fitness update ahead of FA Cup final | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has provided an update on the state of his squad’s fitness ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.

The 2023 treble winners have a chance to finish a sub-par campaign on a high as they continue to fight for a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League ahead of their final two Premier Leaguer fixtures of the season against Bournemouth and Fulham.

Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol were on the scoresheet for the Blues in the FA Cup semi-final as Guardiola’s side saw off a resolute Nottingham Forest side to secure a vital 2-0 victory at Wembley to set up a date with the Eagles.

Oliver Glasner’s side tore Manchester City apart in the opening 21 minutes on their visit to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League last month before Kevin De Bruyne scored a stupendous free-kick and inspired a sensational 5-2 triumph for the top four hopefuls.

Guardiola will be wary of the threat posed by City’s FA Cup final opponents and would be confident of his side’s chances for Saturday owing to their rich vein of recent form that has seen them recover from a slump that added doubts over their Champions League qualification prospects.

Fitness has been a key issue for the Spaniard all season after he lost Oscar Bobb to a leg break days after City’s Community Shield beating of Manchester United and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri suffered an ACL injury against Arsenal in September 2024.

However, the Manchester City manager appears to have as fully fit a squad as he has had at his disposal all season and with the exception of Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Nathan Ake and John Stones.

Rodri has returned to first-team training but Guardiola has been cautious with phasing the midfielder back to action ahead of Manchester City’s FIFA Club World Cup commitments in the United States between June and July.

Asked in a press conference on Friday if there was an outside chance that Rodri could be available for Saturday, Guardiola said that the Spaniard is “much, much better” as it remains to be seen when the 28-year-old will make his long-awaited return to action.

“I’m waiting for the doctors. When they tell me he (Rodri) is ready, he’s going to start. We don’t want to take a risk and take a setback now in this moment,” Guardiola said on the Ballon d’Or holder.

Asked about any fresh injury concerns ahead of the FA Cup final, the Manchester City’s added: “It’s the same like last week,” which is almost certain to see the trio of Bobb, Ake and Stones remain out of contention against Crystal Palace.