Embargoed Press Conference: Pep Guardiola reveals Rodri injury details and Savinho contract latest | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued further details concerning the ongoing fitness worries around Rodri and the latest on Savinho’s future.

The latest comments from the boss come after an eventually comfortable 5-1 win over Scott Parker’s Burnley on Saturday afternoon, as City continue their fine form following the September international break.

A further three points at the weekend add to wins over Manchester United in the Premier League, Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, and Huddersfield Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

A defensively resilient showing away to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium secured a point in a 1-1 draw on the road, perhaps showcasing a turn in either fortune or performance levels off the back of a difficult August.

But while performances on the field have been much more positive, injury and fitness concerns have continued to hamper the squad, with the latest revolving around Rodri – who missed almost the entirety of last season through an ACL injury.

The situation concerning the Spaniard dominated Guardiola’s post-match press conference, in addition to positive performances from individual stars and talk of a new long-term extension to Savinho’s Etihad Stadium agreement.

Now, here is every word taken out of the embargoed section from the Manchester City manager at the Etihad Stadium following the 5-1 win over Burnley on Saturday afternoon!

On whether he has ever come across anyone as prolific as Erling Haaland: “[Lionel] Messi, Cristiano [Ronaldo], right? In terms of goals, yeah [he should be compared to them].

“At his age, maybe the numbers are better, but yeah, in terms of goals; him, Harry Kane, [Robert] Lewandowski, maybe, you know, these kind of guys. But it’s two months, [and] Messi and Cristiano have been doing [it for] 15, 20 years, every season.

“But Erling is still young, and yeah, he’s at that level. In terms of goals, he’s at that level.”

On Savinho’s long-term future: “Yeah [he’s going to sign a new long-term Manchester City contract]. Yeah, we were so clear that we wanted to keep him. It depends on the offer, maybe the offer was not good enough for the club, I don’t know.

“But of course, at his age, last season he played a lot of minutes, can play on both sides, right and left, has a pace that is unbelievable. So in those terms, he’s really good.”

On Nico O’Reilly’s new Manchester City contract: “Yeah, it happened, and Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly, and Savino I think is close, and in the past Ruben [Dias] had done it as well.

“So the club will try to, you know, I’m pretty sure they will try to, the players like we want him, do the effort that we need to stay here longer. And I’m really pleased. Nico is growing a lot, and I think since he started to play we lost just one game; the final of the FA Cup against Crystal Palace.

“Always has been involved. We were in defeat all the time, so Nico helped us a lot, improved a lot in his aggressivity, and in set pieces, and with the ball, and yeah, we’re really, really pleased.”

On Oscar Bobb: “We need him, we need the guys from the bench. In the first one or two, two or three games, it was not good. And the guys who come from the bench, for example, Bernardo [Silva] gave us what we need in that position.

“So in that terms, we are really, really pleased with the impact from Oscar, because we know in the small spaces, he’s always really, really good. I don’t know if he scored or it was an own goal, but he was there, and that is what counts.”

On Rodri’s fitness concerns: “Rodri, yesterday [in] training, he said, ‘I’m not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee, I cannot play, I cannot play’. And I said, ‘You cannot play? You don’t play. So, another one is going to play’. I don’t know yet, I don’t know. (Is it the same knee that he injured?) Yeah.”