Pep Guardiola says Manchester City 'need to protect' 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri as Spain midfielder celebrates birthday at Club World Cup
Updated 22/06/2025 at 21:39 GMT+1
It would have been a welcome sight for Manchester City fans to see Rodri in competitive action at the Club World Cup after his lengthy comeback from injury. Rodri missed a large chunk of last season after rupturing his ACL against Arsenal in September. Pep Guardiola struck a cautious tone in his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Al Ain.
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/06/18: Josep Guardiola (L), head coach of Manchester City FC, speaks with Rodri (Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante) of Manchester City FC during the FIFA Club World Cup football match between Manchester City FC and Wydad AC. Manchester City FC won 2-0 over Wydad AC. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Pep Guardiola highlighted the importance of easing 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri back in gently ahead of their second FIFA Club World Cup group-stage clash against Al Ain.
City face the Abu Dhabi outfit in the early hours of Monday morning, with the match kicking off at 2am UK time.
Guardiola’s men began their campaign with a 2-0 win over Wydad AC on Wednesday, as Rodri replaced opening goalscorer Phil Foden on the hour mark.
Should Rodri - who turned 29 on Sunday - play in Atlanta, it will be via the bench once again, with Guardiola stressing the importance of carefully managing the midfielder’s minutes.
"He’s getting better," Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference.
"We can’t forget, it’s almost nine months since the sad day it happened. It’s an injury between 10 and 12 months. It’s a long injury.
"He’s getting better and if he can play 20 to 30 minutes it’ll be good. I know he wants to be there, but we need to protect him and make him feel good in his knee.
"The minutes he played in the last game will help and hopefully tomorrow, too. Hopefully, one day soon, he can play from the beginning."
Gonzalez 'trying to learn' from Rodri
Rodri has also made a big impression on Nico Gonzalez, who was signed to help fill the void by his compatriot in January.
Gonzalez is aiming to pick up all the best habits from his City team-mate, and has been hugely impressed to see the 29-year-old’s quality first hand.
Gonzalez said: "He has been [back training] a couple of months. He is an amazing player and really good in everything that can be good in a midfielder.
"I am trying to learn the most I can, and I think I am starting to watch him at his best level. I am seeing things that I haven’t seen in a lot of midfielders.
"I try to see all the passes the players don’t see and take as much from him as I can. He helps me a lot. He is Spanish so we are starting to have a good relationship."
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