View Image

Pep Guardiola confirmed that Rodri was taken off for tactical reasons against Monaco with no concerns over his fitness amid general caution over the after-effects of the injury that sidelined him for most of last season.

Rodri has worked hard to recover from a serious knee problem but has still struggled to completely overcome it. He was left out of the Premier League win over Burnley at the weekend after feeling pain in the knee on Friday, and Guardiola said on Tuesday that he was not sure the midfielder can play three games in a week again any time soon as he did last month against United, Napoli and Arsenal.

Guardiola started his Ballon d'Or winner against Monaco in the Champions League but took him off on the hour-mark, with Nico Gonzalez coming on to replace him.

See Full Page