Football Espana
·30 janvier 2025
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Yahoo sportsFootball Espana
·30 janvier 2025
Back in September, Manchester City and Spain were devastated by the news that Rodri Hernandez had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner underwent surgery soon after suffering the injury in a Premier League match against Arsenal, and the expectation was that he would play no further part in the 2024-25 season.
However, that may no longer be the case. As reported by MD, Rodri is progressing better than expected from his injury, and because of this, there is a lot of optimism at the reigning Premier League champions that he will be able to return to action before the end of the season.
Not only that, Man City are also considering keeping Rodri in the squad for the Champions League knockout stages, which could begin for Pep Guardiola’s side with a play-off tie against Real Madrid.
Photo by Cadena SER
Man City have greatly missed Rodri in the months since his injury, and despite spending big during the winter transfer window on the likes of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, they have surprisingly opted not to sign a new midfielder, although the reason for this appears to be that there is confidence of the 28-year-old being back soon.
On the other hand, Spain have coped relatively well with Rodri’s absence, although were fortunate to have one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, that being Martin Zubimendi, as his ready-made replacement. Despite this, there will be a great desire from La Roja head coach Luis de la Fuente to have the 28-year-old back, which he could be for the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League finals.
It will be tough for Rodri to be back playing this season, but it is clear that he is desperate to make this a reality. Man City will be hoping that this happens, and Spain too.