Pep Guardiola coy on Rodri comeback date as Man City star ruled out of Sunderland clash | OneFootball

Spaniard has been struggling with niggling hamstring issue since October

Man City midfielder Rodri has not been passed fit to face Sunderland, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

He has been recovering from a suspected hamstring injury and was thought to be pushing for a comeback this weekend, but Guardiola has now confirmed he will not be involved.

He was rather more candid when discussing Rayan Ait-Nouri. The summer signing from Wolves has found minutes hard to come by since arriving at the Etihad, though that is due in no small part to Nico O’Reilly’s stellar campaign.

The Algerian could soon be handed a chance to impress, though.

"Rayan played really well at the Club World Cup. He played the first game and second game and afterwards he got injured,” Guardiola explained.

“After that game Nico O'Reilly has played really well. That is the only reason. No other.

"We are really pleased with Rayan and he is going to help us. He knows the Premier League and he can play outside and inside but now Nico is playing really good and that is the only reason why.

"There is a lot of games and energy. We dropped against Bayer Leverkusen mainly because of the lack of energy and our intensity.

"Maybe [O’Reilly] will [get a rest] but I don't know when. He is young. He is so young, a teenager and he recovers well. We will see. Day by day."