Rodri and Rayan Cherki return to Man City training ahead of Monaco
Man City have received a boost ahead of their clash with Monaco as Rodri and Rayan Cherki are back in training.
The Sky Blues have endured a difficult start to the 2025-26 campaign, despite a significant outlay on new players in the previous two transfer windows.
Tijjani Reijnders joined Man City in the summer, and the Dutch midfielder was one of several new players brought in to rejuvenate Pep Guardiola‘s squad.
However, despite leading the Premier League in goals scored (14), in large part thanks to the heroics of Erling Haaland, the Sky Blues have only been able to win three of their six matches this season.
But the return of Rodri and Cherki to training will give Guardiola a huge boost as they look to maintain a perfect record on the continent.
Man City injury update ahead of Monaco clash
The Sky Blues have been without several key players in recent weeks, including Rodri and Cherki.
The France international made a bright start to life, scoring against Wolves in a 4-0 win back in August, but suffered an injury against Tottenham the following week and has been unavailable since.
Rodri, meanwhile, warned Guardiola of a knee injury prior to the Burnley game on Saturday (27 September), which ultimately kept him out of action.
However, as reported by Sky Sports’ Ben Ransom on X, the pair are back in training ahead of the clash against Monaco on Wednesday evening (1 October).
However, whilst the pair have returned to training, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Omar Marmoush remain out with injuries and will likely be unavailable for selection.
Pep Guardiola unlikely to risk key stars against Monaco
As tempting as it may be to use either of Rodri or Cherki, it seems improbable that either will be included in the starting XI against Monaco.
The Ligue 1 side, much like City, have found scoring easy this season, netting 14 times in their opening six league games.
However, Monaco were put to the sword by Club Brugge in their first Champions League outing this season, losing 4-1 to the Belgium side.
Nico Gonzalez has found life difficult at Man City since joining in January, and the game against Adi Hutter’s side seems like a great chance to find some confidence as a stand-in for Rodri.
As for Cherki’s role, Jeremy Doku is blossoming this season, and Guardiola will be unlikely to want to hamper the Belgian winger’s momentum.