Manchester City suffer fresh Rodri injury blow after first-half Brentford substitution | OneFootball

Rodri was taken off midway through the first-half in Manchester City’s Premier League clash against Brentford at the GTech Community Stadium on Sunday evening.

The 29-year-old has dealt with recurring niggles in the knee he underwent ACL surgery on last term, which kept the Ballon d’Or winning star on the sidelines for nearly the entirety of the 2024-25 season.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted this week that Rodri needs to be very careful in managing his workload as the season progresses, having already overworked his knee since the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June.

City’s January signing of Nico Gonzalez from Porto has allowed the Blues the luxury of easing Rodri back into action this season, though Rodri has managed to get a run of consecutive games under his belt since the September international break.

However, City have been handed another fitness blow after Rodri went off after 22 minutes into their Premier League meeting with Brentford on Sunday with what appeared to be a hamstring pull – the full extent of which remains unknown.

Gonzalez replaced Rodri midway through the first-half at the GTech Community Stadium, with the former Atletico Madrid visibly devastated after suffering his latest fitness setback to exacerbate what has been the most difficult 12 months of his professional career.

Rodri has expressed the mental toll his fitness struggles have taken on him in the last year – struggles that were in tandem with Manchester City enduring their most difficult season under Guardiola – as they finished third in the previous Premier League campaign with 71 points, exited the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lost the 2025 FA Cup final.

Guardiola has attempted to manage Rodri’s minutes since his return to the pitch in May but Manchester City’s staff and medical team have been handed their latest challenge as they look to bring Rodri back to his best in due course following his latest injury.

There is no ideal time for Manchester City to lose arguably their best and most important player since 2021 but with the international break on the horizon, Guardiola will be hopeful that Rodri can use the next few weeks to recuperate.

A hamstring injury typically takes four to six weeks before the injured player can properly return to the pitch and having seen Rodri pick up a number of injuries since his return in May, there is no doubt that Guardiola will preserve his midfield anchor and err on the side of caution over the next few months.

Gonzalez is expected to operate in the number six position in Rodri’s absence, though the return of Mateo Kovacic to first-team training after undergoing surgery on his Achilles in the summer will give Manchester City another viable option in the middle of the park.

Guardiola is expected to provide an update on Rodri’s injury after his side’s game against Brentford, with the Blues taking a 1-0 lead through the in-form Erling Haaland early in the first-half.