Eighth Manchester City injury scare as midfielder sustains fitness problem withdrawing from Spain clash

Manchester City’s defensive midfield mainstay Rodri has withdrawn from Spain’s European Championship qualifier match against Cyprus due to a lack of fitness.

The latest update concerning Manchester City’s first-team squad comes after a flurry of other injury problems and withdrawals from international duties, with the likes of Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, and Nathan Ake all having removed themselves from call-ups.

Following injury issues in quick succession, it now means that should the latest development be serious enough to force an international team exit, then Pep Guardiola could have eight players sidelined and just 13 outfield names at his disposal at this present moment.

Manchester City will be hoping that all of the issues sustained in the past few days are not too serious, and that Pep Guardiola will have a largely full compliment of players at his disposal for the visit of Liverpool after the international break.

That feeling can be applied to all names, but none more so than defensive midfield mainstay Rodrigo – who saw his Manchester City teammates lose all of their games during a three-match suspension undertaken earlier this season, including defeat against Arsenal.

According to the information of COPE journalist Miguel Angel Diaz, Manchester City’s Rodri will be absent from Spain’s clash with Cyprus on Thursday night after reporting a ‘discomfort’ to national team medical staff.

The report, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, explains that Spain national team manager Luis de la Fuente has decided not to risk Pep Guardiola’s go-to name in his defensive midfield slot on this occasion, in a boost to City’s hopes of an unserious problem sustained.

Following the meeting with Cyprus on Thursday night, Spain take on one more international fixture during the November break, as they host Georgia in European Championship qualification, with their place at next summer’s competition already booked.

In more longer-term problems for Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City boss is likely to remain without Kevin De Bruyne for a more sustained period of time with the Belgian midfielder continuing his recovery from hamstring surgery.

Elsewhere and John Stones is currently embarking on his work back towards full fitness following a reoccurrence of a muscular problem, as the England international pulled out of the recent 3-0 win over BSC Young Boys in the Champions League at half-time.

Sergio Gomez is also likely to be out for a few more weeks, with the expectation being that the Spanish full-back will only be returning to early stages of full training following the conclusion of the international break.

Manchester City return to club duties with Premier League clashes against the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa, while their Champions League group stage ventures conclude with meetings against RB Leipzig and Crvena zvezda.