Pep gives Foden and Rodri injury update

Pep Guardiola has provided an update on Phil Foden and Rodri, both of whom stayed in Manchester instead of travelling to Palermo for the Anglo Palermitan Trophy match. He expressed hope that Phil Foden would be ready for the start of the Premier League season. Foden missed the trip as a precaution due to an ankle issue ("knock") sustained during training, although Guardiola stated the player had been doing "really good" before that minor setback.

Regarding Rodri, Guardiola emphasized the need for caution following the midfielder's significant knee injury that caused him to miss most of the previous season. Rodri only returned for the final two games and the FIFA Club World Cup before suffering another injury in the Al-Hilal game. Guardiola reported that Rodri is currently training and has shown improvement over the last two or three days, but the manager stressed the importance of avoiding a recurrence of pain.

Guardiola indicated that Rodri might be able to play limited minutes in games before the upcoming international break. However, he stated the crucial goal is for Rodri to return fully fit and pain-free to prevent a cycle of re-injury ("come back and injured, come back and injured"). The manager confirmed the club is working "desperately to avoid that" scenario while acknowledging the positive step of Rodri training with the team recently.