Man City sweating on fitness of £116m duo ahead of Newcastle United clash

Manchester City are anxiously awaiting news on the fitness of key midfielder Rodri as they prepare to visit Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime.

The Spain international has become integral to Pep Guardiola’s plans in recent seasons as City have continued to dominated the Premier League - but he suffered an injury during the first-half of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal as the two title rivals went head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium. Rodri was taken off just before the midway point of the first-half with his side leading thanks to Erling Haaland’s early goal and is believed to have suffered a knee injury.

The classy midfielder, who Guardiola believes is a ‘potential Ballon d’Or winner’, watched on as a last-gasp John Stones equaliser snatched a point for his side after the ten-man Gunners came close to a big win thanks to goals from defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel. After praising his side for their reaction to falling behind, Guardiola bemoaned the injury suffered by Rodri and admitted he was unsure just how severe the blow could be.

Speaking after the draw, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach said: "I don't know yet, I didn't ask the doctors. Rodri is strong. He leaves the pitch in this action because he felt something, otherwise Rodri stays there. He's the best holding midfielder in the world, he is a potential Balon d'Or winner, I would love for him to win. But it happened in the first minutes. These games with Arsenal are like that and we have to handle it. We did it. We did really good things."

Guardiola is also awaiting news on Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgium star missed the draw with Arsenal after he picked up a groin injury during his side’s Champions League opener against Inter. Defender Nathan Ake and youngster Oscar Bobb will definitely miss the trip to St James Park with a thigh injury and broken leg respectively.

Newcastle will be without long-term injury victims Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles as they continue their comebacks from the serious knee injuries they suffered during the second half of last season. Speaking prior to Saturday’s defeat at Fulham, Howe also confirmed young midfielder Lewis Miley is ‘a long way off’ returning to contention after a foot injury and striker Callum Wilson is believed to be a month away from a full recovery from a lower back injury he suffered during the summer.