Rodri ruled out of Burnley win with knee pain, doubtful for Monaco trip

Manchester City midfielder Rodri was ruled out of Saturday’s 5-1 win over Burnley after reporting pain in a previously injured knee and is a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Monaco, manager Pep Guardiola said. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner told coaches during Friday training that he could not play because of acute knee pain, prompting City to leave him out of the starting lineup and replace him with Nico González against Burnley.

Guardiola said he had been told by Rodri in training, "I'm not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee, I cannot play, I cannot play." The manager added that he would not take risks with the midfielder, saying that if a player cannot train or play then someone else will. City’s medical staff will continue to assess Rodri ahead of the midweek fixture at the Stade Louis II.

Rodri has endured a stopstart return to action since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in September of last year and missing the majority of the following season. He had featured intermittently this campaign, including a spell of three starts in one week against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, but was rested for the Carabao Cup tie against...