Pep Guardiola issues Man City fitness update for Borussia Dortmund with midfielder needing surgery | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola previewed his side’s upcoming UEFA Champions League encounter with Borussia Dortmund in a press conference on Tuesday.

City rose to second place in the Premier League table at the weekend as a brace from Erling Haaland and a strike from Nico O’Reilly secured a 3-1 win for the Blues over high-flying Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s men have won nine of their last 12 games in all competitions, underpinning their swift turn in fortunes after back-to-back losses against Tottenham and Brighton in the Premier League left City in the bottom half of the table.

Rodri returned to action on Sunday after coming off the bench late on in City’s win over Bournemouth, having recovered from a hamstring injury the 29-year-old midfielder sustained in a 1-0 win over Brentford in October.

However, it is unlikely that Rodri starts for Manchester City anytime soon as Guardiola and his coaching staff will take into account the various fitness setbacks the Ballon d’Or winner has endured since his lengthy ACL layoff.

Nico Gonzalez – who started City’s 3-1 Carabao Cup fourth-round triumph away at Swansea City on the bench last week – returned to the starting XI against Bournemouth and is expected to anchor the midfield against Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester City were handed their latest injury blow ahead of the visit from Dortmund, with Mateo Kovacic reportedly set to undergo surgery on his heel – which could keep the 31-year-old Croatia international on the sidelines till February or March.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Guardiola delivered a wider fitness update on his squad ahead of a crucial run of home fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League and Premier League respectively.

Aside from Mateo Kovacic, who has suffered a heel injury that will reportedly require surgery and will keep the midfielder out of action till February or March, Manchester City have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Dortmund’s visit.

It remains to be seen whether Oscar Bobb and Abdukodir Khusanov will be available after being left out of the matchday squad against Bournemouth due to ‘tactical reasons’, with Guardiola having a luxury of options at his disposal as a result of a near fully-fit squad.

Manchester City are set to train on Wednesday morning after Guardiola gave his squad a day off on Tuesday – an unconventional yet not new tactic deployed by the Catalan wherein his side will be put to the paces 12 hours before the 20:00 UK kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.

City have won nine of their last 12 games in all competitions and Guardiola will be desperate to maintain that run of form against Dortmund ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with English champions Liverpool.