Manchester City are still sweating on the fitness of Rodri ahead of their Premier League trip to Everton on Monday night.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner suffered a calf injury during the recent 2-1 win over title rivals Arsenal and played no part in the subsequent victory at relegated Burnley or in last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final comeback against Southampton at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola insists that Rodri is getting better, but does not want to risk the influential midfielder too early for fear of losing him for another extended period of time following a difficult couple of years with injury.
It is unclear at this stage if the Spaniard will be involved when City head to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday evening, with Nico O’Reilly having deputised alongside departing captain Bernardo Silva in midfield against Burnley before Nico Gonzalez and Mateo Kovacic then joined Tijjani Reijnders in the middle in a rotated team in the cup, with Gonzalez scoring a fantastic late winner.
That may be enough to see him retain his starting berth against Everton if Rodri is not fit, though O’Reilly has played there plenty already this term, allowing Rayan Ait-Nouri to slot in at left-back.
City’s only other known injury concerns at present surround defenders Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, who have been sidelined with an ankle issue and a leg fracture respectively.
Dias has not played since the 2-1 Champions League last-16 second-leg defeat by Real Madrid on March 17, while Gvardiol sustained his injury against Chelsea on January 4 and subsequently underwent surgery.
Guardiola said Dias is also getting better but is still not ready to play, while he insisted Gvardiol was making progress but remained unavailable.
Gianluigi Donnarumma should be back in goal to face Everton after James Trafford took over in the FA Cup as usual, with Matheus Nunes continuing at right-back and the central defensive partnership of Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi restored in Dias’ ongoing absence after John Stones and Nathan Ake played against Southampton.
Ait-Nouri will be at left-back if O’Reilly is again pushed into midfield, or O’Reilly will likely be on the left of defence if Guardiola opts for Gonzalez alongside Silva or if indeed Rodri is fit to start.
Erling Haaland will be back up front in place of Omar Marmoush after coming off the bench at Wembley, while he should be supported by the familiar attacking triumvirate of Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku, with Phil Foden dropping out.
Predicted Man City XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Silva, O’Reilly; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland
Doubt: Rodri
Injured: Dias, Gvardiol
Time and date: 8pm BST on Monday May 4, 2026
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium
How to watch: Sky Sports
