Ballon d'Or 2024 winner Rodri suffers latest injury setback: How many Manchester City and Spain games will he miss?
Updated 09/08/2025 at 20:59 GMT+1
Rodri has suffered another injury setback, so what will this mean for Manchester City and Spain? The midfielder missed most of the 2024/25 campaign after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury last September. City will be hoping that the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner can help them return to the top of English football after a difficult campaign last season.
Pep on Rodri injury: 'He complained a little bit'
Video credit: SNTV
Pep Guardiola has revealed that 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has had another setback in his bid to return to full fitness.
The Spanish midfielder suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury last September that ruled him out for the majority of the 2024/25 campaign.
He made his comeback with a seven-minute cameo in the penultimate game of Manchester City’s season, a 3-1 win over Bournemouth, and also featured in all four of their FIFA Club World Cup fixtures.
However, Guardiola has now said that he suffered another injury in their Round of 16 defeat against Al-Hilal at the tournament in the USA.
"Rodri is getting better but he had a big injury in the last game against Al-Hilal," said City boss Guardiola.
"He has trained better in the last few days.
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Video credit: SNTV
"Hopefully after the international break, he will be really fit.
"In these games, he can play some minutes, but what is important is that he doesn't have pain because we don't want Rodri coming back injured. We will try desperately to avoid that.
"He has been training the last two sessions with us, and that's good."
Which games will Rodri miss?
City will be hoping to return to the top of English football after relinquishing the Premier League title to Liverpool last term.
To do that, they will need their best players to hit the ground running.
So Rodri’s latest injury setback is a huge blow to their hopes of a strong start to the season, but how many games will the midfielder miss?
Guardiola did not disclose what type of injury Rodri had suffered.
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However, he did confirm that City will not rush him back and that he will not be back to full fitness until after the first international break at the earliest.
| Match | Date and time |
| Wolves v Manchester City | Saturday, August 16, 17:30 |
| Manchester City v Tottenham | Saturday, August 23, 12:30 |
| Brighton v Manchester City | Sunday, August 31, 14:00 |
| Bulgaria v Spain | September 4, 19:45 |
| Turkey v Spain | September 7, 19:45 |
If that remains the case, then the 29-year-old will miss his side’s opening three fixtures of the Premier League season.
City are set to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home in their opening game of the campaign, before a home game against Tottenham Hotspur and a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Rodri’s national team, Spain, will then face Bulgaria and Turkey in a pair of UEFA World Cup qualifiers at the start of September.
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