Four days after lifting the World Cup, Rodri is staring at another long spell on the sidelines. The Manchester City and Spain midfielder needs surgery on a back injury that will rule him out for the start of the new season and could keep him out for considerably longer, with no clear timeline for his return (The Athletic; The Guardian).

The news lands with a thud for anyone who has followed Rodri's last two years. On July 19, 2026, he captained Spain to a 1–0 World Cup final win over Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. That performance capped a career-defining month. Now, instead of preparing for the new club season, the 30-year-old is facing the operating table.

For City, the timing could hardly be worse. Enzo Maresca has arrived as the club's new manager and, per The Guardian, is keen to keep Rodri at the Etihad. But the midfielder's contract runs out in June 2027, and The Guardian reports that Rodri has a desire to return to Spain, with Real Madrid his favoured destination. Madrid have not yet made a concrete move to sign him.

None of that can be resolved while Rodri's fitness is in doubt. The back problem is only the latest in a brutal chain of injuries. In September 2024, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament — the ACL, a key ligament that stabilises the knee — in a 2–2 draw against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. That injury ruled him out for most of the 2024–25 season and was widely cited as a major reason City failed to win a fifth consecutive Premier League title (Reuters). Rodri returned to individual training in late February or early March 2025 and was back in full training with Erling Haaland by May, returning to match action after roughly eight months out (Reuters; AP News).

The setbacks did not stop there. He suffered another injury at the FIFA Club World Cup in July 2025, then picked up hamstring and groin problems during the 2025–26 season. He started only 17 Premier League matches all campaign. By the end of June 2026, Yahoo Sports was already reporting that Rodri would miss the beginning of the 2026–27 season due to an unspecified injury (Yahoo Sports). The back issue, now confirmed as requiring surgery, is the explanation.

The Ballon d'Or winner — football's most prestigious individual award, which Rodri claimed in October 2024 — has spent nearly as long in the treatment room as on the pitch since that accolade. For a player whose intelligence and positioning have made him the quiet engine of both City and Spain, the prospect of another extended absence carries real weight. Maresca wants to build his team around Rodri. The question is when, or whether, the player's body will let him.