Pep Guardiola issues Manchester City fitness update ahead of Premier League finale against Fulham | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of their final Premier League game of the season against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

City took a crucial step towards Champions League qualification with a deserved 3-1 triumph over Bournemouth in midweek, with goals from Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez marking a happy finale for the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne on his final home appearance for the 2023 treble winners.

De Bruyne will eyeing three points in his final Premier League appearance in a sky blue jersey, which is also highly likely to be the 33-year-old midfielder’s final game in a Manchester City shirt owing to the Belgian’s reluctance to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States between June and July.

Rodri made his long-awaited return to action against Bournemouth on Tuesday, with the Ballon d’Or holder replacing Erling Haaland late on as Manchester City looked to protect their lead after going down to 10 men after Mateo Kovacic was sent off.

Guardiola has been blessed with a near fully fit squad in recent weeks – a luxury the Spaniard has not had all season as personnel issues across the pitch has been a key underlying factor for Manchester City’s evident struggles this season.

Ederson, Erling Haaland, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have all returned to fitness in the last month as Manchester City look to end what has been a sub-standard campaign for the top-four chasing Blues.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Guardiola provided an update on his side’s fitness ahead of a trip to west London for their final Premier League fixture of the campaign.

Asked if Rodri is fit to feature on Sunday after making a cameo off the bench in midweek, Guardiola said: “Really pleased he’s back, from the reaction of the people to him.

“I’m pretty sure he (Rodri) is so pleased in that, but he’s a long way still to be what Rodri was, and I guess it will be next season.

“I think it will take even longer for that (playing every three days across 70 games), because the experience with surgery you have to be careful otherwise you’ll have muscular problems.”

Further quizzed on whether there are any fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, Guardiola added: “Except John (Stones), the rest are fit.”

When asked whether Rodri could start on Sunday, the Manchester City boss said the midfielder is “not ready” to be named in the starting XI as of yet.