Rodri: Man City, Spain star opens up on career-ending fears after injury nightmare

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri has admitted that fears crept into his mind over whether he would ever play football again after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2024.

Just months after winning the Ballon d’Or, Rodri jarred his right knee following an innocuous coming-together during a Premier League match against Arsenal and was required to undergo surgery.

The 29-year-old was sidelined for 220 days and missed 51 games for club and country before making his long-awaited first-team return for Man City in April 2025.

The Citizens tried to take a cautious approach with Rodri’s recovery and were determined not to rush him back into action, but the midfielder still suffered a number of frustrating setbacks.

Between November and December 2025, Rodri was sidelined with a niggling hamstring injury that forced him to miss nine Premier League matches.

Rodri then played regularly for Pep Guardiola’s side between January and April of this year and appeared to put his injury woes behind him, before a groin problem limited him to playing in just two of Man City’s final eight games of the 2025-26 season.

Rodri feeling ‘stronger than before’ after career-ending injury doubts

When looking at a photo of the moment he sustained his ACL injury during an interview with DAZN, Rodri said: “This is part of life. Not-so-good moments.

“It’s the knee injury I had. You have to face it in the most positive way possible. It was a time for reflection, for recovery. It was difficult, I won’t deny it, but you recover from it and come out stronger. Now I’m back and I feel stronger than before.

“When I came back, I had some doubts about being able to play normally again. I felt very limited, in a lot of pain. When you stop completely, your body brings out what it hasn’t been able to give you during that time.

“There was a moment of doubt where I wondered not just if I would return to my previous level, but if I would ever play again. I’ve proven that I have. I’ve returned to that consistency in my football. It’s a long road, that’s clear.”

Rodri should be fit for Spain’s World Cup opener vs. Cape Verde

Outgoing Man City boss Guardiola was one of Rodri’s biggest supporters during his nightmare spell with injuries, and he has regularly insisted that the Spaniard must be given time to return to his very best.

Reflected on his time working under Guardiola, Rodri said: "It's sporting. On a personal level, you also learn from someone with a very strong character, a very competitive personality.

"Well, also from his humanity at certain times. There are arguments, joys, there are times when you agree or disagree with his decisions. Overall, he tries to bring out the best in you and for the team. He always wants what's best for the group.

"On a human level, there are times when he has known how to make distinctions. People who leave, who are no longer with us, he has known how to cherish that memory. The players who have left. Those moments speak for him. He is a special person in my career."

Rodri, who has been heavily linked with a summer move to Real Madrid, is now preparing to captain Spain at the 2026 World Cup and should be fit for their Group H opener against Cape Verde on June 15.

Spain’s No.16 was not involved in the 1-1 friendly draw with Iraq last Thursday, but he could be ready to feature in some capacity when Luis de la Fuente's side face Peru next Tuesday.