Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed when he expects to have Rodri back available for selection.
The Spain international – ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best players in the world right now – has not appeared for City since going off injured against Arsenal in the Premier League in September.
Later revealed to be an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, what followed was a probably-not-entirely-unrelated drop in form for the Manchester club, meaning those at the Etihad Stadium are eagerly anticipating news of a return.
Guardiola sets expectation of Rodri return
Picking up an ACL injury is every player’s worst nightmare, typically a season-ender with recovery times of up to a year.
However, with the Sun reporting late last year that the 2024 Balon d’Or winner could make a shock return this season, Guardiola has been keen to temper expectations but didn’t entirely rule out the possibility.
Speaking to the press, Guardiola said: “I'd love to arrive in the last stages of the Champions League and he could help, but I will not put one second of pressure on him. In my mind, next season is when Rodri will return.
“In my mind he’s not here. But maybe he comes back earlier and that would be good.”
City fans did catch a glimpse of their main man making an appearance in a stadium recently. Unfortunately, for football fans of the round-ball variety, it was as a guest on coverage of the Super Bowl.
“I’m a very positive guy, in the sense of: I take it for what it is,” Rodri told Sky Sports inside Caesars Superdome. “[You can] do a lot of stuff you’re not used to doing. Come here, spend more time with your family and, why not? Try to improve other parts of your body, work on that, and come back stronger.”
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, as much as he might want to reduce expectations on Rodri, it appears even Guardiola himself can’t entirely bring himself to rule out the possibility of the 28-year-old’s return this season.
The City boss has suggested he won’t pressure Rodri into a return, but he needs to action those words, even if the midfielder feels ready for an earlier comeback — it’s better that the injury ends his season rather than hampers the rest of his career, so he must be allowed to recover accordingly.
Manchester City take on Real Madrid this week when Champions League action returns.
