Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said midfielder Rodri is still recovering from the “big” groin injury he sustained in the 4–3 Club World Cup defeat to Al-Hilal on 30 June and is unlikely to be fully fit until after the September international break. The 29-year-old Spaniard, last season’s Ballon d’Or winner, has joined training in the past two sessions but will be used only sparingly in the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign to avoid a setback. Guardiola expects Rodri to make only cameo appearances in City’s first three league fixtures—against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion—before a potential first start in the Manchester derby on 14 September. The midfielder missed most of last season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and returned to competitive action only in May. Rodri has been left out of Saturday’s final pre-season friendly away to Palermo alongside Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol, who are also short of fitness. Guardiola, who is trimming a 31-man squad before the transfer window closes, said the priority is ensuring Rodri plays without pain rather than rushing him back.