Rodri to undergo surgery, sidelining him for Manchester City’s season opener

Rodri, the reigning Ballon d’Or holder and the heartbeat of Manchester City’s midfield, will go under the knife again. The surgery will keep him out of the opening weeks of City’s 2026-27 Premier League season.

A timeline of setbacks

The trouble started on September 22, 2024. Rodri went down with a right knee ACL tear during a match against Arsenal, the kind of injury that rewrites a season in a single moment.

He missed approximately 220 days. That translated to 51 games on the sideline for the 2024-25 campaign.

His return came in May 2025, later than initially hoped. Soft-tissue problems followed almost immediately, with groin and hamstring injuries cropping up in the months that followed. Those secondary issues limited his involvement heading into the 2025 Club World Cup.

Guardiola himself acknowledged the uncomfortable possibility that Rodri may have been rushed back too soon. The manager indicated that the midfielder was still not at full fitness as recently as mid-2026, and cautioned that peak form might not return until after the 2026 World Cup.

Why Rodri’s absence hits different

Manchester City’s reliance on him has been well-documented. His absence has been linked to decreased midfield control and noticeably poorer team results. During the 220-day stretch he missed in 2024-25, the drop-off was visible to anyone paying attention.

Rodri himself has been candid about the challenge. He expressed concerns about whether he can return to his previous performance levels after such a significant knee injury. That’s a remarkably honest admission from someone who won the Ballon d’Or in 2024.

The World Cup question looms large

The timing of this latest surgery adds another layer of complexity. The 2026 World Cup is on the horizon, and Spain will be counting on Rodri as a central figure in their squad.

Guardiola’s warning that Rodri might not regain peak form until after the World Cup raises an uncomfortable question for both club and country. Rodri is 30, an age where recovery timelines stretch and the body’s tolerance for repeated trauma narrows. The ACL injury was the first domino. The groin and hamstring problems were the second and third. This latest surgery is yet another in a sequence that suggests his body hasn’t fully recalibrated after the initial rupture.

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