Manchester City's Champions League visit to Villarreal should have been a triumphant homecoming for Rodri, a return to the club that made him. But the midfielder will get no warm welcome back from his former fans at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday as he instead recovers from a hamstring injury that has raised further doubts over his ability to get back to his best a year after undergoing knee surgery.
Rodri was born in Madrid and took his first steps in organised football with Rayo Majadahonda and then Atletico Madrid, but he became a professional with Villarreal. Atletico let him go in 2013 as they believed he lacked the physical presence needed to make it so, aged 17, he moved to the Yellow Submarine. Not wanting to put all his eggs in one basket, he also enrolled in a degree in Business Studies at the University of Castellon and moved into student accommodation.
And when he broke into the Villarreal first team in 2015, his fellow students were shocked to see the midfielder who was coming up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi each week walk past them in hallways on their way to doing laundry. "People flipped out when they saw Rodri still living in student halls when he started playing in La Liga," friend Valentin Henarejos told . "He shared space with everyone. He liked to be with his friends or sit on the sofa with everyone. But of course people were shocked to see him play ping pong or put on the washing machine.
"When he got to La Liga he didn't change on a personal level, he lived the same way training, travelling to matches, resting and studying. He managed the step up well."
Rodri, who drove an Opel Corsa and had a 'half-broken' mobile phone when he was starting out, said Villarreal "gave me everything" and was "the ideal place to grow as a footballer", but he did not stick around long. Atletico signed Rodri in the summer of 2018 for €20 million just before he had turned 22, and one year later more than tripled their investment when he was sold to Manchester City for €70m (£62.5m), where he became the Cityzens' record signing at the time.
It proved to be money very well spent as Rodri helped guide City to four successive Premier League titles and scored the goal that delivered them the Champions League at long last. Having helped Spain win Euro 2024 – their first major international trophy for 12 years – he won the Ballon d'Or, the first-ever City player to do so and the first Spaniard since Luis Suarez in 1960. Not bad for an aspiring business student!
But Rodri now faces a careeer crossroads as the niggling injuries have piled up since he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in September 2024. There are genuine fears that that he will never be the same player again, certainly not the resilient athlete who could play every match and practically guarantee that his team would win whenever he was on the field.
AFPStill hope
Many great players have never been the same again after suffering ACL injuries. Radamel Falcao, for example, was a shadow of the player he once was after injuring his knee for Monaco in 2014, as he missed the World Cup with Colombia before then bombing with Manchester United and Chelsea, though he did stage a slight resurgence once back at Monaco. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, meanwhile, missed a combined three seasons due to knee issues and finally was forced to retire aged 34.
There are also plenty of good news stories, of players who overcame long spells out on the sidelines to get back to their former heights or be even better. Ruud van Nistelrooy's move to Manchester United from PSV in 2000 was derailed by an ACL injury. but one year later he got back to full fitness and became one of the most prolific strikers to ever grace Old Trafford. Ronaldo tore his ACL in 1999 and then, in his comeback game, ruptured tendons in his kneecap; less than two years later he fired Brazil to glory at the 2002 World Cup and then earned a move to Real Madrid. Roy Keane missed most of the 1997-98 season due to ACL tear but then led United to the treble in 1999, while in 2000 he scooped the PFA Player of the Year award.
More recently, Eder Militao has torn the ACL in each of his knees within the past two years but has returned to being a regular for Real Madrid and Brazil, while his club team-mate Dani Carvajal is also back for Madrid after suffering a triple knee injury last year.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWorst case scenario
Rodri, though, suffered one of the worst case scenarios when it comes to knee injuries. There are two menisci in each knee, the medial (inside) and lateral (outside), while the ACL connects them. Although the ACL is one of the main ligaments in the knee, the menisci are as important as they absorb shock between the shin and thigh bones, helping stabilise the knee and protect it from wear and tear.
While between 50 and 70 per cent of people who tear their ACL also damage one of their meniscus as well, only around a third of people tear all three. Rodri was one of the unlucky ones, suffering what is known in medical circles as 'the terrible triad'. ACL surgeon Gordon Mackay told that tearing the outer cartilage means "a more challenging recovery, more challenging surgery, and a less predictable outcome".
Rodri was treated by Dr Manuel Leyes, who runs the Olympia clinic in Madrid that operated on Carvajal, Luis Suarez, Sergio Ramos and Zinedine Zidane, among other notable athletes from the NFL and the NBA. Leyes told that "Rodri has a good head on his shoulders and is surrounded by a team that advises him very well," but he and manager Pep Guardiola appear to have disagreed on the timescale of his recovery.
Getty Images Sport'Big' injury at Club World Cup
As far back as January, Guardiola warned of the danger of Rodri returning too soon. “He's positive but I don't know to be honest. An ACL is an ACL. Always I believe in long injuries there's a time you must respect because of the human body. The most important thing for Rodri now is to recover well. You're not a teenager anymore but still you have years to play. And it's going to happen if you recover well. If you can get back for one week, one month and [take a] step back for next season it's not intelligent."
Guardiola had said shortly after Rodri underwent surgery that he could be out for between nine and 12 months, and yet he returned to the pitch just under eight months after he suffered the injury against Arsenal, playing 10 minutes in the penultimate game of City's Premier League campaign against Bournemouth. But the big mistake, with hindsight, seems to have been taking Rodri to the Club World Cup.
In the United States, Guardiola again repeated his message of being careful with Rodri and only introduced him for the final half-hour against Wydad Casablanca and Al Ain. He then started Rodri against Juventus, giving him just over an hour, but returned him to the bench for the last-16 clash with Al-Hilal. Guardiola brought his star midfielder on in the second half as his team were trailing 2-1, but was then forced to take Rodri off again in extra-time due to a groin problem. Months later, Guardiola admitted it was "a big injury" and explained that Rodri would not start the season.
"Hopefully after the international break, he will be really fit," he said. "Hopefully in these games, he can play some minutes, but what is important is that he doesn't have pain because we don't want Rodri coming back injured. We will try desperately to avoid that."
Getty Images Sport'Lot of pain'
Rodri got 15 minutes against Tottenham and played 90 minutes against Brighton, the first time he had completed a match in 11 months, to open the campaign, and Guardiola's wish seemed to have come true as Rodri started against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal in the space of seven days, playing a combined 226 minutes of a a potential 270.
But one week later, he was left out of the squad against Burnley, with Guardiola making the concerning revelation that during training in the build-up to the game, Rodri had told him: "I'm not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee."
A few days later, Guardiola warned that Rodri could not cope with City's usual schedule. "He is not injured, but in the tendon he has a difficulty," Guardiola said before City played Monaco. "The week before was so demanding with [Manchester] United, Napoli and especially Arsenal, and right now he's not able to play three games in a week at a top, top, top level – top intensity, demanding opponents. My feeling right now is he is not ready because he needs time. This type of injury, it is minimum one year and after that you start. Be patient and he dictates. If he feels not good, it's better to rest."
