Pep provides Rodri fitness update ahead of Monaco clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says Rodri is fit and ready to feature in Wednesday’s latest UEFA Champions League clash away at Monaco.

However, the boss says both the Club and the player will continue to manage his match minutes and schedule carefully in the wake of the long-term ACL injury the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner suffered last term.

That injury saw Rodri spend more than eight months on the sidelines before he returned at the end of last season.

The Spanish holding midfielder sat out Saturday’s 5-1 Premier League win against Burnley as he was not fully fit.

But addressing the media in Monaco ahead of tomorrow night’s latest UCL clash at the Stade Louis II, the boss delivered the latest update on Rodri’s availability and all-round fitness and progress.

“Yeah, he feels much better than the game before against Burnley," he said.

"Day by day see how best he feels. The day before Burnley he didn’t feel too good.

“Today he feels much better so we will see.

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“It’s different from [when he had a problem at] the Club World Cup - now he is not injured.

“But the week before was so demanding with [games against] Manchester United, Napoli and especially Arsenal.

“Right now, in my opinion if you ask me, he is not able to play three games a week at top, top level.

“Tough intensity and demanding of opponents.

“ My feeling is right now he is not ready. Because he needs time.

“This type of injury [to recover fully] is a minimum one year.

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“He has been patient, and he will dictate [his availability].

“Nico made an incredible game last game. He is improving day by day, Kova [Mateo Kovacic] is also quite similar and we will see what happens.”

Looking ahead to Wednesday’s game meanwhile, the boss said he and his players were preparing for a tough encounter.

“What can I say? Always for a long time I have admiration for Monaco players," Pep added.

“I remember a UEFA Super Cup final with Barcelona [against Monaco].

“Always they have a good team, they link with the channels, they are really aggressive in the game.

“Hopefully we can read good what we have to do and try to take an important victory."