2024 Ballon d’Or winner has struggled with fitness since his return from a 10-month injury
Manchester City’s Rodri is facing another injury setback after the midfielder was forced off in the first half of the club’s Premier League match against Brentford.
The midfielder lasted just 21 minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium before signalling he could not continue.
City’s head coach Pep Guardiola said: “He is injured. He felt something, but hopefully it will not be huge.
“It looks like a hamstring but we don’t know the damage yet.”
Rodri had surgery last year to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and damaged meniscus in his right knee. He returned to action in May after 10 months but has been having recurrent problems.
He was substituted in the club’s final Club World Cup game against Al-Hilal in July, only minutes after coming on. The midfielder subsequently missed City’s Premier League opener and has been managed carefully since.
Guardiola cautioned earlier this week that the Spaniard should not be expected to regain the kind of form that saw him win the 2024 Ballon d’Or until next season. Rodri sustained his ACL injury shortly after winning the prestigious award and has yet to reach anywhere near that level since his return.
“In the World Cup it will be the best Rodri and next season will be the best Rodri,” Guardiola said last week. “This season will be how we handle it, step by step.
“It’s normal, it was one year on the massage table. The body changes, the rhythm changes. It’s a question of time. If he’s healthy and works with what he has to do, he will be back.”
