Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne latest as Pep Guardiola delivers Rodri Man City rotation verdict

Pep Guardiola will accept Rodri's call for a rest in the coming weeks, but he didn't have much sympathy for his midfielder ahead of Manchester City's clash with Luton.

Rodri has not lost when representing City in 66 games but raised eyebrows after the Blues' draw in Madrid when he told reporters he needs a rest after playing so much. His performances have admittedly dropped in the last few outings, and Guardiola reacted to the comments by telling his number 16 that he can have a rest if he asks for it.

"I didn't speak with him but if he needs a rest he will have rest. Or no. I don’t know," he said. "More than the physicality, it is a case of Spending mental energy. Playing every three days, three days. Of course he's tired, playing a lot of minutes.

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"Rodri is so important for us and we’ll decide tomorrow what we have to do. If a player doesn’t want to play then he’s not going to play. Simple. Another one will play. If he’s exhausted, it can happen and another player is going to play.

"It's not just Rodri. I’d love to rest central defenders but we don’t have them. In the [international] friendly games they were injured and we are in big, big trouble. So they cannot rest."

Meanwhile, Guardiola wouldn't confirm if Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne will be available this weekend after midweek scares against Real Madrid. De Bruyne withdrew from the starting line up with a sudden bout of sickness, while Foden impressed in his place but limped off with a 'bad dead leg' sustained at the end of the contest. Guardiola said he has not spoken to