How Nico Gonzalez has filled Rodri void for Man City

Manchester City will again be without Rodri this weekend but Pep Guardiola has growing faith in Nico Gonzalez's ability to stand in.

Pep Guardiola is desperate to have Rodri available again for Manchester City but has faith in Nico Gonzalez's ability to stand in for the Ballon d'Or winner - because he has learnt from the master.

Rodri will once again be missing when Liverpool visit the Etihad this weekend as his battle to prove his fitness after an ACL injury continues, meaning Gonzalez will keep his place in the side.

The 23-year-old is in the best form of his City career, having joined from Porto for £50million at the end of the January transfer window, and Guardiola puts a lot of that improvement down to the fact that he has had guidance from Rodri.

"I think Nico had the best teacher in that position," said Guardiola. "He (Rodri) is one of the more competitive football players I’ve ever met in my career and how he pushes his mates is unbelievable.

“Being outside when he is involved and with us he’s always incredibly positive with Nico, helping him a lot.

“All I want is Rodri to be happy, he starts to smile and enjoy again. It’s been tough.

"[But] the toughest period is gone, the third month, fourth month, fifth month, sixth month with a long injury. Now is the end, he has to try to stay ‘okay, I’ll be back around the corner and be with the team to do it’.

Gonzalez is set for a fourth successive start against Liverpool, a milestone he has reached only once before in his City career, and his form in recent weeks has been excellent. His absence was felt when he started on the bench against Aston Villa two weeks ago.

But Guardiola makes no secret of the fact that he wants Rodri back. Although City are happy to be patient with the 29-year-old, there is faith that he will eventually reach the same level he was at before the injury 14 months ago.

"Don’t misunderstand me, we want Rodri back as soon as possible. But I don’t want him back and after a while, he has to make a step back," said Guardiola.

"As a manager, when I see Rodri and the doctors and physios say ‘Rodri is ready’, then he is going to play. I am 100% convinced he will be back and will play - it will take a little bit of time to reach the level that he had."

It has been a stop-start season for the Spaniard, who has started six games but none since October 1. He has now appeared on the pitch in just two of the last eight matches, for a combined 23 minutes of football, and Guardiola attributes his fitness problems to the schedule.

"Believe me, Rodri can play one game a week, but if we play Sunday then after Tuesday, Saturday after Wednesday, then go to the national team - this is another kind of competition," he said.

"You play one game a week, you recover perfectly. The problem is every three days. When a long injury the history says the year after you have slight problems - we try to avoid it, we are desperate to avoid it, but it happens, the stats say that - for one year you stop [playing]. You come back one game a week, you recover fine, but it’s so demanding."

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

Click here to read article