Pep Guardiola issues injury return timeframe on Manchester City’s Rodri | OneFootball

Rodri is close to making a long-awaited and perhaps more consistent return to Manchester City action, according to his manager Pep Guardiola.

City’s Ballon d’Or winner spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL injury in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium in September 2024.

Manchester City failed to cope with the absence of the 29-year-old lynchpin in midfield and despite the arrival of Nico Gonzalez from Porto in January as part of a £181.5 million outlay, Guardiola and co recorded their lowest ever points tally (71) in the Premier League – finishing third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.

After returning to first-team training in the spring, Rodri made his long-awaited return to the pitch in a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth in May, when he replaced Erling Haaland in the closing stages of Kevin De Bruyne’s final home appearance in Manchester City colours.

Guardiola was cautious in reintegrating Rodri and the Manchester City manager’s worst fears were realised when the former Atletico Madrid man, who joined the Blues in 2019, suffered a further injury setback at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June.

Rodri has been a fundamental part of Manchester City’s success since 2021 and last season’s struggles were an honest reflection of how much Guardiola leans on his fellow Spaniard, who spearheaded Spain to European Championship glory in 2024.

City began their 2025-26 Premier League campaign in style at the weekend as debutant Tijjani Reijnders delivered a five-star performance on his league debut with a goal and assist in a 4-0 win away at Wolves.

Mateo Kovacic remains on the sidelines amidst ongoing recovery following an Achilles surgery earlier in the summer, with Guardiola hoping to welcome back the Croatian and Rodri in the coming months as Manchester City look to challenge on all fronts this season after a sub-standard 2024-25 campaign.

Speaking in the days prior to the Premier League opening day win over Wolves, Guardiola was quizzed on the fitness of Rodri and how long the Spain international is away from being deemed match fit following his latest fitness setback.

“He (Rodri) is so soon to coming back, but what is important is his knee is perfect,” Guardiola told reporters.

“Now he needs to bring minutes in training sessions, and if possible in the games. What we want is he doesn’t come back and takes a step back. That would be not good!”

Though he didn’t feature in Manchester City’s matchday squad against Wolves, Rodri accompanied his teammates and the club’s coaching staff to the Molineux Stadium in what was a sight of relief for City fans, who will be hopeful that the Ballon d’Or holder can play some part in the upcoming run of fixtures against Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United.