Rodri Out After Back Surgery: Impact on Manchester City

Manchester City will begin the Enzo Maresca era without one of their most influential figures, with Rodri undergoing back surgery and ruled out for what the club describe as a “short period of rehabilitation”.

Maresca revealed on Friday that the midfielder would go under the knife on Monday, stressing that the 28-year-old needed more than just treatment.

“He needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us,” the new City manager said, underlining the physical toll of a gruelling few years on club and international duty.

City have not put a date on his return. No comeback game ringed in red, no optimistic target quietly briefed. Just a gap in the heart of midfield and a medical bulletin that confirms Rodri had been “feeling discomfort for some time but has now undergone a procedure to address the issue”.

The timing is awkward. City face Arsenal in the Community Shield on 16 August, then open their Premier League campaign against Bournemouth a week later. Maresca’s first competitive steps in English football may come without the man who has so often been Guardiola’s on-pitch metronome and safety net.

Rodri’s recent seasons tell the story of a body pushed to its limits. His past two campaigns have been repeatedly interrupted by injury, culminating in a torn anterior cruciate ligament that wiped out most of City’s 2024-25 season for him. Each time he has returned, he has been asked to go again at full tilt, for club and for country.

This summer only increased the load. Rodri guided Spain to World Cup glory and walked away with the player of the tournament award, cementing his status as one of the defining midfielders of his generation. That form has fuelled heavy links with Real Madrid, with the City man entering the final year of his contract and speculation swirling over his long-term future.

For now, though, his immediate reality is more prosaic: rehab rooms, gym work, and a carefully managed return to full training. City will hope that dealing decisively with the back issue finally gives him a clear run at a season.

While one cornerstone of the side steps away to recover, another has nailed his colours firmly to the mast.

As reported by BBC Sport in June, Josko Gvardiol has signed a new five-year contract that runs until the summer of 2031. It is a significant statement from both player and club. The 24-year-old Croatia international has already packed plenty into his short time in Manchester: 122 appearances since arriving from RB Leipzig in August 2023 and six trophies, including the Premier League title in his debut campaign.

Gvardiol’s extension locks in a defender City view as central to their next cycle, a versatile, aggressive presence who can anchor a back line or step out with the ball. With Rodri out and his longer-term situation under the microscope, the contrast is striking: one pillar temporarily removed, another reinforced for the long haul.

Maresca’s first months in charge will now be shaped by how City absorb Rodri’s absence and how quickly their midfield general can return from the operating table to dictate games again.