“I feel very, very strong” – Rodri sends warning to Manchester City’s title rivals | OneFootball

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri has sent a stark warning to the rest of the Premier League after recovering from an ACL injury.

The 29-year-old spent almost the entirety of the previous campaign on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL tear in an enthralling 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League in September 2024.

Rodri picked up the Ballon d’Or in Paris – becoming the first Manchester City player to win the highly coveted accolade – on crutches in November 2024, returning to full first-team training in the spring.

City fans gave an outstanding reception to the holding midfielder on his long-awaited return to the pitch in May, when Rodri replaced Erling Haaland in the closing stages of Manchester City’s 3-1 triumph over Bournemouth on Kevin De Bruyne’s final home appearance for the club.

Pep Guardiola has been and will continue to be very cautious in managing Rodri’s workload after taking the Ballon d’Or winner with the Manchester City squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

“I feel very, very strong to be honest,” Rodri said in an interview with the club’s official media channels.

“You know, the process (of recovery) was long, but I was taking my time and said that the most important thing was to keep focus and don’t be sad or whatever.

“I knew one day I’ll come back and yeah, this day has finally come.”

Rodri has come off the bench in each of Manchester City’s opening two group-stage wins – over Wydad AC and Al Ain – with Guardiola doubling down to journalists in press conferences that the 29-year-old is not ready to play 90 minutes yet.

Guardiola is likely to once again start without Rodri in City’s final group-stage clash against Juventus on Thursday, though the 2024 European Championship winner is eyeing a full return to action in the near future after a positive start to life after his ACL recovery.

“I feel very good, and very happy to be here (in the United States). An amazing tournament to start again to play football and really excited to join the team again, joining in the pitch. That’s the most important thing,” Rodri added.

“And be excited to work with them and win – that’s the aim today. This (the Club World Cup) is a massive opportunity for me to come back.

“I’m very excited to play again. And though it’s going to still be months until I reach my level, I am so happy.

“I think Pep (Guardiola) is like us. You know, we’re trying to find out the best way (forward). Try to fix the new signings. See what the best way is for playing.

“And I think this tournament is an incredible opportunity to compete but also show what we’re going to show next season.

“So I think for this (the Club World Cup) is great and as soon as we all get together and know each I think we’ll be better as a team.”