Manchester City’s Rodrigo runs on the pitch during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad Stadium, in Manchester, England. AP
Last year’s Ballon d’Or winner missed City’s 5-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday after withdrawing himself from contention for the game after training on Friday.
“He said, ‘I’m not able to play, I have a lot of pain in my knee, I cannot play,’” City manager Pep Guardiola said after the Burnley game.
“I said if you cannot play, you cannot play. Another one is going to play.”
Rodri was out for eight months last season with the ACL injury to his right knee. Guardiola confirmed the same knee is currently causing him trouble.
Rodri played three games in an eight-day span in the middle of this month, during which Guardiola said the Spain midfielder didn’t feel comfortable either in matches or in training.
The absence of Rodri for most of last season was key to City’s sharp decline and failure to retain the Premier League title.
City heads to Monaco this week having won its opening match in the Champions League’s first phase — 2-0 at home to Napoli.
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