Rodri's Injury Complications a Warning for Manchester City

MANCHESTER, SATURDAY — After recovering from knee surgery and a groin injury, Manchester City midfielder Rodri is unlikely to feature at the start of the new English Premier League season. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner is being treated with great caution to anticipate any complications from the injury.

City manager Josep Guardiola confirmed that Rodri will not be included in the squad for the first preseason match against Palermo, which will take place on Sunday (10/8/2025) at 02:00 WIB. The midfielder is also likely to be absent at least until the next international break in September 2025.

Hopefully, he can play a few minutes in those matches (at the beginning of the season). However, the most important thing right now is that he is no longer in pain. We do not want Rodri to get injured again.

Rodri has not yet fully recovered after suffering a groin injury in the Round of 16 match of the Club World Cup against Al Hilal earlier in July. He has been training alone since last week and participated in the last two training sessions with other players, but he was not taken to Palermo.

Guardiola believes that Rodri could actually have been involved in the early matches of the Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, and Brighton and Hove Albion. However, the Spanish national team player is certainly not yet at his best level.

The manager is also reluctant to take such an undue risk. "Hopefully, he can play a few minutes in those matches (at the beginning of the season). However, the most important thing right now is that he does not feel any pain anymore. We do not want Rodri to get injured again," Guardiola stated.

Guardiola is reluctant to repeat his mistakes in the Club World Cup. After a knee injury that sidelined him for almost a season, Rodri was briefly tested as a substitute in two group stage matches. Following that, the player was given the opportunity to start in the final group match against Juventus.

This was Rodri's first appearance as a starter since his severe injury in September 2024. He performed very well, showing signs of returning to his standard form. City's performance also improved. Guardiola is confident that the player is ready to return to regular play.

Rodri once again received more than 45 minutes of playing time five days later, specifically in the round of 16 match against Al Hilal. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old midfielder had to be substituted during extra time due to a new injury in the groin area.

Recovering from a serious injury like a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is never easy. Many players experience setbacks due to complications from the new injury. This is due to prolonged periods of time out, such as Rodri, who was absent from intense play for around nine months.

City needs to be more cautious. This is because Rodri's condition has experienced anomalies over the past year. He has suffered from three different injuries. Before encountering issues with his knee, he sustained a thigh muscle injury at the beginning of last season. This injury caused him to rest for 43 days.

Interestingly, Rodri is known as a player who is not prone to injuries throughout his career. He has only recorded two injuries previously, in 2019 and 2021. One of them was merely due to a collision. He was sidelined for a total of 21 days.

The feeling of trauma haunts City once again. As is known, City has performed inconsistently throughout the season and failed to defend the English Premier League title due to the loss of Rodri. Guardiola does not have a replacement in the anchor midfielder role who can bridge the attack and protect the defenders.

The new midfielder acquired during the January transfer window, Nico Gonzales, has not yet been able to fully fill the role of Rodri. When playing without Rodri, City has only recorded a win percentage of 61 percent. This is significantly lower compared to when they play with Rodri, which stands at 74.2 percent.

Without Rodri, Guardiola will make the best use of the available players at the beginning of the season. He even opened the option to play the new midfielder Tijjani Reijnders in the anchor position. However, Reijnders is better known as a more offensive midfielder.

"Tijji (Reijnders) can play in that position even when everyone is fit again, he can return to play further up the field. This season will be very challenging. I see the schedule in the office, we will be playing every three days after September. We need all players (available)," concluded Guardiola.

City's preparations for the new season are somewhat lagging behind other clubs. Due to the Club World Cup, they only began their preseason matches a week before the opening game. Competing teams, such as Arsenal and Liverpool, have already started their preparations since mid-July. (AP/REUTERS)