Manchester City boss insists the midfielder needs a lot of time for a full comeback from his eight-month injury
Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City will need to be patient as Rodri works his way back from a long-term knee injury.
Rodri missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury. But he returned in May and has slowly been working his way back to full fitness, despite a few setbacks on the way to recovery.
He has started several of City’s games this season, although he is yet to return to the form that saw him win the Ballon d’Or in 2024.
“Rodri has been and is an outstanding player,” said Guardiola. “Everybody knows it. But I said to Rodri, and maybe he struggled to understand: it’s not about six months or seven months. ‘Ah, eight months I’ll play and be the Rodri of before.’ No.”
The City manager went on to suggest that the midfielder is unlikely to be at his full level again until next season.
“Rodri will be good at the World Cup with Spain. In the World Cup it will be the best Rodri and next season will be the best Rodri. 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.”
The closest player at City with Rodri’s skill set is Nico Gonzalez, who joined from Porto for £50m in February. He has under a lot of scrutiny, with his performances compared to Rodri’s. However, Guardiola backed the 23-year-old to become a top player in that position for the club.
“He is so young,” said Guardiola. “Rodri has been with us seven years, he is not even one year and in a tough period.
“There are many things that step by step he is going to take, because he is open-minded and incredibly coachable.
“Even Rodri in the first season struggled. It’s normal. New environments and you need a process to understand it. Nico is Nico. He has to use his talent as Nico. He can improve a lot.”
