Rodri injury news: Man City star “playing at 70%” as Pep Guardiola’s Premier League title hopes hang in balance without midfield “glue”

Manchester City will find it “incredibly difficult” to win the Premier League title without star midfielder Rodri at his very best, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is in the process of regaining his sharpness following a significant spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury last season, but the Spaniard has been forced to manage several niggling setbacks.

Rodri missed Man City’s opening Premier League game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers due to his knee issue, before featuring in each of the club’s next five matches in all competitions, playing the full 90 minutes in two of those.

The 29-year-old was then rested for an EFL Cup win over Huddersfield before informing manager Pep Guardiola prior to City’s 5-1 top-flight win against Burnley that he could not play because of “a lot of pain in his knee”.

Just four days later, Man City fans were delighted to see Rodri handed a start and play for an hour in a 2-2 Champions League draw with Monaco, but those smiles soon turned upside down after the midfielder was taken off 21 minutes into last weekend’s 1-0 win at Brentford with a minor hamstring tweak.

Rodri has subsequently withdrawn from the Spain squad ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria this month, but he ‘hopes to be available in two weeks’ time’ when Man City return to PL action against Everton.

Rodri “back at his best level” could be key to Man City’s PL title hopes

Prior to Man City’s win over Brentford, Guardiola claimed that does not expect Rodri to return to his best until the 2026 World Cup next summer, meaning that the Citizens will have to challenge for silverware without arguably the world’s best midfielder at the top of his game.

McInerney has suggested that Man City’s Premier League title aspirations may hang in the balance if Rodri is not able to perform at his maximum, while he has also questioned whether Nico Gonzalez is ready to fill the void in a deep-lying midfield role.

“It's incredibly difficult,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “[Rodri is] the best player in the world - I know [2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane] Dembele technically is now, but to me [Rodri] still is at his very best. I think Rodri is one-of-one and he's the best midfielder in the world, definitely.

“I think if he was back at his best level this season, I think City go on to win the league. I think he's that good. I think he's the glue to the entire side and everyone around him - [Tijjani] Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, all these players - just bounce off his ability and they thrive alongside him.

“Right now, Rodri's playing more like first-season Rodri. He’s been pretty been good, but he hasn't had the magic. He still moves a bit like Rodri (close to his best) and he's done some Rodri things which probably has given us a false sense of security, where actually his level he's been nowhere near the level of Rodri as we know.

“Rodri at his very best is turning people with ease, he's actually dribbling, he's smacking it at goal for 25 yards, often scoring. He's an all-round absolute beast who eats up the entire pitch, whereas Rodri so far this season has been good, he's been there, he's been decent (but not at the same level).

Man City’s Nico Gonzalez compared to “70%” Rodri

McInerney added: “I mean this with the greatest respect to Nico Gonzalez, who I think could be a really good player, but I don't think there's a massive difference between the two on the pitch (Gonzalez and Rodri playing below his best).

“City carried on playing how they were playing (against Brentford) when Rodri went off after 20 minutes when Nico Gonzalez came on, and I think that's because Nico Gonzalez is a very seven-out-of-10 player right now. A good player. He's not a great player, but he's getting better as Guardiola said he's very coachable.

“I think that's where Rodri is. Rodri is a 10-out-of-10 footballer, but right now he's playing at 70% of his ability and that's probably why the gap between the two right now doesn't seem that massive.

“Obviously Rodri is much smarter on the ball, but the physicality Nico Gonzalez has got is much higher right now than Rodri and I think we're only seeing a small part of what makes Rodri so brilliant.

“I hope we see the very best of [Rodri] this season. I suspect he’ll get there, I think he will do, but I don't think Guardiola or City expected him to be anywhere near his best. Maybe us as fans naively hoped he would be, but this is just part of his progress, unfortunately.

“It's going to take an awful long time. Even [Virgil] van Dijk had a bit of an off-season after he came back (from a serious knee injury), he wasn't quite as demanding as usual and it took him a year or so to find his best form. I think this is where we're at (with Rodri).

“There's not much we can do. City would be a better side and unquestionably in contention for the Premier League title if he was at his best, As it is, we still might have a chance, but Rodri might not be quite as involved as we'd hoped. We'll see.”

“Sometimes you've just got to ride it out”

McInerney feels that Man City have no other option but to give Rodri all the time that he needs to make a full recovery in an “era of impatience”.

“Guardiola told Rodri that he wouldn't be himself at all this season. He said he'll have the best version of himself at the 2026 World Cup for Spain and that's when he'll probably be back to his best,” said McInerney.

“I guess there's always this urge to do something. We're in an era of impatience in every form of life. Everything has to be fixed now and everyone's always got a better answer, but sometimes you've just got to ride it out.

“I think, right now, Rodri's in a situation - which he probably knows and City's medical team will know - where he's had an incredibly serious injury, the kind of injury that 30 years ago would potentially end your career.

“Some people get lucky and can come back a bit quicker, but Rodri is not the youngest anymore, he's not 20 years old anymore, he's pushing 30 now.

Rodri is right to be “ultra cautious” on road to recovery

“[He plays in the] most demanding position in the world and given his profile, people are going to get close to Rodri, going to kick him, going to give him a tough time - it's going to be difficult.

“I don't think City can do much. They can just be patient and [allow Rodri to] play through it. No amount of rest is going to change this unfortunately.

“Occasionally, of course, if you feel pain, you stop, but if you don't feel pain, you’ve got a crack on. I think that's what City have been trying to do with Rodri, just playing to the demands of his body."

“I don’t think this injury is that serious,” McInerney continued. “I think it is genuinely just a bit of a pull from his body adapting to the standards of elite football again, so hopefully he'll be alright, and [his latest setback is] timed quite nicely [because of the] international break. Hopefully he'll be back after that.

“It's just something we're going to have to accept as City fans, because Rodri has had a horrendous injury and these things take an awful lot of time not just to recover, but then to adapt and change and for his body essentially to accept that ligament in his knee and reach the standards he did beforehand.

“I think he's going to be fine. This is just him being ultra cautious which is the way to be right now.”

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