Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola hopes Rodri will be able to play at the Club World Cup as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury.

The Ballon d’Or winner suffered the injury in September’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal but has recently made a return to light individual training.

Rodri's absence has been felt this season, with City's title hopes long gone. They sit fifth in the Premier League, 22 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Speaking ahead of his side’s FA Cup quarter-final clash away to Bournemouth, Guardiola said of Rodri featuring at the Club World Cup: "I don't know, I hope so but I don't know. It would be nice if he could play tomorrow.

"But we don't want to make the wrong decisions now and take a step back. The doctors said it would be seven or eight months, now it has been six or six-and-a-half. He's behaving really well on the pitch already but in competition, it's completely different.

"We will see but we will take it step by step. We won't say, 'we have to target the Club World Cup', then lose him again for many months. We have to be sure that he's fine."

The winner of the expanded summer tournament, which takes place from June 14 to July 13, will earn a huge £97million winning bonus, but Guardiola does not feel anyone at City is worthy of that after their frustrating season.

10 - Pep Guardiola is only the fifth manager to win 10+ major honours in charge of English clubs (5x Premier League, 4x League Cup, 1x FA Cup), along with Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley, George Ramsay & Arsène Wenger. He has done so in just seven seasons with Man City. Elite. pic.twitter.com/M82v1DRVRF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 21, 2023

"We don't deserve it this season. We don't deserve a bonus this season. If we win, I don't know how much but it is for the club," Guardiola said.

"The manager, the players, the backroom staff, we don't deserve. Not even a watch."

With the confirmed split summer transfer windows, Kevin De Bruyne, who is out of contract at the end of June, could depart the club prior to the tournament.

However, the City boss says De Bruyne's contract situation "is between the club and Kevin and his agent."

Before then, Guardiola will be hoping to seal Champions League qualification and win the FA Cup, but City will face a stern test against Andoni Iraola’s impressive Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium.

City’s dramatic downturn in form saw them lose at the same ground back in early November, and Guardiola is well aware of the threat they pose.

"I wouldn't say they are chaotic. I would say they have a specific way of playing and it works with the players and the ideas that they have," he added.

"Every team plays in a specific way with their beliefs, and they do it really well. Other teams are more direct, other teams want more crosses, others want to win the ball and run and run."

Bournemouth's win over City in November was the Cherries' first victory over the Citizens in all competitions, after 21 previous meetings.