Man City injury news: Nico O'Reilly boost, Rodri update from Pep Guardiola before Newcastle FA Cup tie

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has delivered a fresh update on the fitness of Nico O'Reilly ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash with Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The 20-year-old was not deemed fit enough to play in the Citizens’ 2-2 Premier League draw with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday after being forced off with an knock to his ankle in the 1-0 win at Leeds United last weekend.

O’Reilly had previously enjoyed a strong run of form in Guardiola’s side and had established himself as one of City’s most influential players, scoring two goals in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Newcastle at the Etihad a fortnight ago.

Citizens supporters are keen to see O’Reilly back fit and firing at a time when fixtures continue to come thick and fast for Guardiola’s side across multiple competitions.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola offered a brief yet positive update on O’Reilly, saying “Yesterday he felt better - we will see today”.

O’Reilly could feature against Newcastle as Guardiola issues Rodri update

It remains to be seen whether O’Reilly will be risked against Newcastle, given that Guardiola and co will most likely have one eye on next Wednesday’s tricky trip to Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Playing the full 90 minutes is presumably unlikely for O’Reilly, but regaining his match sharpness over an hour of football, or even during a cameo appearance of the bench, would be beneficial for the youngster if he wishes to start at the Bernabeu, where he scored in a 2-1 League Phase win for City earlier this season.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle/heel) remain sidelined, but Erling Haaland recovered from a “little injury” to play the full 90 minutes against Forest in midweek and will be considered for selection against Newcastle.

Guardiola was also asked for an update on Rodri’s fitness, with the midfielder having played regularly in 2026 after an injury-ravaged 18 months with an troublesome ACL problem.

The Catalan coach and the club’s medical staff have been careful with how they monitor the minutes of the Spanish midfielder to ensure that he does not suffer any setbacks.

“Finally this is happening what we wanted [for him] a long time ago when he came back and made steps back and having a consistent routine to play,” Guardiola told reporters.

“Now we have to play a lot of games and long travel away that the fatigue is involved – travelling to Madrid, travelling to London, and taking hours to arrive.

“We have to use all the squad otherwise it’s not possible to play with the rhythm we want to play. Step by step [Rodri is] getting better and better, everybody knows it.”

“The FA Cup is always so important”, says Guardiola

Guardiola could be tempted to rest a few key players, including Rodri and Haaland, this weekend, but the City boss has insisted that the FA Cup remains an important competition for his team.

"How many finals have we played in the last years? How many semi-finals have we played in the last years? A lot. That means the FA Cup is always so important. We're going to travel to Newcastle to win to get to the next round - that's definitely 100%."

Man City are looking to beat Newcastle for the fourth time this season, having already celebrated a 5-1 aggregate win in the EFL Cup semi-finals and the aforementioned 2-1 Premier League success two weeks ago.