Pep Guardiola admitted Rodri returned from injury too soon but believes the key midfielder is now getting back towards his best.
Rodri sustained knee ligament damage in September 2024 – the same year he won the Ballon d’Or – and came back in May but he has struggled to regain the same level of influence for Manchester City, while he missed a chunk of this season with a hamstring injury.
“He came back too early,” said Guardiola (via Irish News). “Our desire to get him back, him especially, he came back early, that’s why it was longer. It’s a good lesson.
“Human beings have a time for recovery. There are players who can recover earlier, like Bernardo (Silva) for example or Phil (Foden), and other ones need more time. Still it’s not his best but every time his mood and his training and his playing (is improving). He’s a special player.”
The 29-year-old Spaniard’s contract runs out next summer and, asked if he would like to see him stay on, Guardiola said: “I would love (that) desperately.
“Rodri is Rodri. As much age as he has, more wiser, more understanding of the game.
“There are players that are defined on the big stages, in the difficulties, and Rodri’s one of them, like Bernie, like Ruben (Dias), like many of them that I had in the past. You cannot achieve what we achieved if you don’t have huge personalities.”
