Man City are planning to give Rodri a rest as he claims he 'NEEDS' time off - after warning the treble winners it is 'not healthy' for him to play all the time

Manchester City are devising a plan to give Rodri some much-needed rest after the midfielder admitted tiredness in the wake of Tuesday’s pulsating draw at Real Madrid.

Rodri had held discussions with the Treble winners over his workload last summer but has since made 47 appearances for club and country this season.

Just nine outfield players across Europe’s top five leagues – including Phil Foden – have racked up more minutes than the Spaniard’s 3,497 so far.

Rodri was candid about the potential for burnout heading into the campaign, claiming that featuring in up to 60 matches is ‘not healthy’ and telling City pushing his body to ‘the limit’ couldn’t happen for a second consecutive year.

City have a potential 13 matches to go if they progress to the finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup. Rodri has started 41 for Pep Guardiola already this term.

‘I do need a rest,’ the midfielder said. ‘It is something we are planning. Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is [and] I need to adjust.’

Guardiola’s side face Luton Town in the Premier League on Saturday as they hunt down a fourth successive title and that could present an opportunity to leave Rodri out.

The 27-year-old is integral to the way Guardiola plays and City have found identifying an understudy difficult, evidenced by a difficult spell for Kalvin Phillips. Mateo Kovacic is the most likely deputy at the base of their midfield but struggled there in September’s defeat at Wolves when Rodri was suspended.

Guardiola had questioned suggestions that Rodri appeared jaded in the aftermath of last weekend’s 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace, where he had looked leggy and was uncharacteristically sloppy in possession.

That dip in performance continued in the first half at the Bernabeu before Rodri re-found his composure. 

‘Normally the players look tired when the team is not playing good,’ Guardiola said at Selhurst Park. ‘Did you see tiredness in the second half with Rodri? Not at all. In the first half he was so tired, he was missing too much, our process was not good. He was in positions he shouldn’t be.’

Real had been afforded over a week to prepare for their quarter-final first leg, which ended 3-3, and Rodri revealed that John Stones had soldiered on with an injury later in the game.

‘Rest is important,’ he added. ‘Every one of us can do better, even myself. But we need to rest to be honest. They were a bit fresher in the first half than us, it’s normal.

‘But I think the mentality of the team to go against them and come back with those goals sums up the mentality of the champions we are.

‘John was tight and had some problems at the end but he showed his courage because he knew that the team needed him. He didn’t say “I need to go”, he stayed until the end – this is the kind of thing we’re going to need.’