In thrashing Liverpool FC yesterday, Manchester City sent a strong statement of intent. Just four points behind table topping Arsenal at the international break, City look like the only team (at least right now) who are serious about contending with the Gunners for the Premier League title. So we’ll have a two team race then? Well, City have the squad fitness advantage for sure. Not just on the Gunners, but pretty much everybody else in the league, as Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are their only two fitness concerns at this time.
Let’s get you up to speed with the latest updates.
Rodri
Given how extremely important he is to the team, and all the injuries that he’s had to deal with in recent years, Rodri will just continue to be on overly managed minutes. City will be sure not to “overcook” him, so we’ll see him in and out of the lineup as the season goes on.
We’ve seen this trend in action already, as was not in the squad yesterday, due to a thigh injury, with manager Pep Guardiola saying on Friday: “We will see tomorrow. I think we won’t take a risk ahead of the international break. We have to find the moment he feels strong and fit to sustain the actions in the game properly.”
Rodri should be fine for the next match.
Mateo Kovacic
Kovacic is looking at a March return from an ankle injury. The last time Pep spoke about it, he said: “He will be out for a while… He still has a problem with the ankle; a little calcification [is] still there. We’ll wait on him for the last part of the season.”
Team Injury Update Series: November 2025 Intl Break
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Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post