Rodri Injury Update: Latest Details, Recovery Timeline and Impact on Team

Manchester City suffered a shock elimination from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a bitter 4-3 loss to Al Hilal in the Round of 16 encounter on Monday (1 July 2025). They went ahead twice in the game, but were ousted in extra time by the Saudi Pro League giants. To rub salt into their wounds, influential midfielder Rodri also ended up suffering an injury towards the end of normal time. He had come on as a substitute himself in the 53rd minute, before being forced to be taken off in the 100th minute because of an issue.

Rodri Injury Details

Rodri had a pretty underwhelming outing as a substitute for Manchester City against Al Hilal. He struggled to help his side control the game properly and couldn't really create many chances either. Then, in the 100th minute, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner started complaining of a fitness problem, which led Pep Guardiola to take him off.

It is being reported that Rodri had complained about fitness issues in the weeks leading up to the Club World Cup and also about some niggles he's facing from the cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the 2024/25 Premier League clash.

Guardiola refused to delve into the exact problems faced by Rodri that caused him to be taken off, but instead stated after the loss to Al Hilal: “We have to see Rodri, he complained about his situation, but we need time to come back.”

How Does Rodri's Injury Affect Manchester City?

Manchester City will not be able to play any more matches at the FIFA Club World Cup because of their elimination. That means Rodri will not be missing any more matches in this tournament for them either. The Cityzens' players will now get some much-needed rest from football before the start of their 2025 pre-season campaign.

Manchester City are currently not scheduled to play any pre-season friendly matches before their 2025/26 Premier League campaign begins on August 16 (2025) in an away game against Wolves. They might opt to schedule some pre-season fixtures before that, but the players will receive a three-week holiday for the time being before being asked to return for training.

That means Rodri will get ample time to rest and spend time away from football. He can also use this free time to recover from the injury he sustained against Al Hilal and amp up his sharpness levels in the period, too. Rodri ended up missing 50 matches for Manchester City because of his knee injury in the 2024/25 season, being restricted to only eight appearances in the campaign.

When will Rodri Return? Recovery Timeline

Rodri does not appear to have sustained a serious injury in the loss to Al Hilal, even though Pep Guardiola didn't give a concrete update on its seriousness. He has plenty of time to recover from the knock, with Manchester City's next competitive match not being before their Premier League opener against Wolves.

The Spanish midfielder should be ready for the beginning of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign unless some more complications arise from his knock. Rodri will face competition in the Manchester City midfield next season, with new signing Tijani Reijnders along with the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez and Matheus Nunes all vying for places in the Cityzens' midfield.