Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, is unsure about when former Ballon d’Or winner Rodri will return to the team after suffering a hamstring injury against Brentford earlier this month in the ongoing 2025-26 season. The 54-year-old revealed in the press conference that Rodri is not ready to play against Everton at home in the Premier League match on Saturday, October 18 before saying “I don’t know” when the Spaniard will return.
Notably, Rodri was taken off in the 22nd minute against Brentford during their 1-0 win at the GTech Community Stadium after he “felt a little bit in the hamstring” in his own words. Since the fixture was just before the start of the international break earlier this month, Rodri has had just about two weeks
to rest and recover from the injury ahead of the Everton clash at the Etihad Stadium, but he wasn’t able to pull it off.
Following his Ballon d’Or triumph in 2024 - getting recognised as the best footballer of the year - Rodri suffered a severe knee injury just a month into the 2024-25 season, missing out on the majority of the campaign with Manchester City and Spanish national team. He returned to action in the penultimate Premier League match of last season against Bournemouth before competing in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Rodri has played seven matches for Manchester City in all competitions this season
The Spaniard suffered minor injury to his surgically repaired knee before the start of the ongoing 2025-26 season, which forced him to miss the Premier League opener for Manchester City against Wolves. Upon returning to the team, he has managed to play in seven matches across all competitions for the Citizens in just over a month while competing on the pitch for the full 90 minutes just two times.
In the absence of Rodri, Manchester City haven’t quite been at their imperious best across all competitions, which is why his return will be welcomed with open arms and then some, whenever it does happen to be the case.
