Rodri to Undergo Back Surgery as New City Era Begins

Rodri’s World Cup coronation has been followed, almost immediately, by a harsh reminder of the toll elite football takes on the body.

Fresh from lifting the trophy with Spain and claiming the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player, the Manchester City midfielder will undergo surgery on a back problem on Monday, new manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

The 30-year-old, who also holds the Ballon d'Or, looked back to his imperious best on the international stage, dictating games and driving Spain to glory. For City, though, the last two seasons have told a very different story.

A serious anterior cruciate ligament injury wrecked the majority of his 2024-25 campaign, and repeated setbacks last season meant he was in and out of the side, never able to find his usual rhythm over a sustained period. Just as he has reminded the world of his dominance, he now faces another spell away from the pitch.

Speaking at his first news conference as City boss, Maresca laid out the immediate plan.

“Now, [he has] surgery on Monday. Then he needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us,” the Italian said.

No timeline. No promises. Just the clear message that City’s midfield metronome must be rebuilt carefully.

For a coach walking into one of the most demanding jobs in world football, the prospect of starting his tenure without such a central figure would concern most. Maresca, though, cut a calm figure, even as he acknowledged the swirl of speculation around Rodri’s future.

Reports in the past week have linked the Spaniard with a move to Real Madrid, a predictable storyline when a World Cup-winning, Ballon d'Or-holding midfielder nears a crossroads in his club career. Maresca brushed it aside.

“Around big players there are always speculations so I am not worried about that,” he said. “I think it is normal, also because they [Spain] won the World Cup and because he is one of the best players. I think every manager wants to have Rodri because he is a top player.”

The message was pointed: City plan with Rodri, not without him.

For now, the focus is narrower. Surgery. Rest. Recuperation. A player who has carried club and country for years is being forced, at last, to stop.

When he returns, Maresca will know exactly what he is getting: a leader, a reference point, a midfielder who bends matches to his will. The real question is how long City must learn to live without their cornerstone at the very moment a new era is supposed to take shape.