Rodri Undergoes Back Surgery: Challenges Ahead for Manchester City

Manchester City will start the Enzo Maresca era without one of their most influential figures, with Rodri sidelined after undergoing back surgery.

The midfielder has had what the club described as a “procedure” to solve an issue that has been troubling him for some time. City say he now faces a “short period of rehabilitation”, though there is no firm date for his return.

Maresca, speaking on Friday before the operation, painted a picture of a player who has been running on empty.

“He needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us,” the new City manager said, underlining how much strain Rodri has carried across club and country in recent seasons.

For City, the timing is awkward. The Community Shield against Arsenal looms on 16 August, a first competitive marker for Maresca, followed a week later by the Premier League opener against Bournemouth on 23 August. Whether Rodri plays any part in those early fixtures is unclear. For now, City are refusing to pin his recovery to a calendar.

The club confirmed that the Spain international had been “feeling discomfort for some time” before finally opting for surgery to resolve the problem. It is another physical setback for a player whose last two seasons have already been repeatedly interrupted by injury, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament that ruled him out of most of City’s 2024-25 campaign.

All of this unfolds against a charged backdrop. Rodri has just a year remaining on his current contract and has been heavily linked with Real Madrid, the speculation intensifying after he led Spain to World Cup glory this month and collected the player of the tournament award. His status has never been higher. His body, though, has been telling a different story.

Maresca must now prepare for the start of the season without the midfielder who so often dictates City’s rhythm. It asks immediate questions of the squad’s depth and of how quickly the Italian can imprint his ideas without his most trusted metronome available.

While Rodri steps away to heal, City have moved to lock down another cornerstone of their future. As reported by BBC Sport in June, defender Josko Gvardiol has signed a new five-year contract, tying him to the club until the summer of 2031.

The 24-year-old Croatia international has become a mainstay since arriving from RB Leipzig in August 2023. He has already made 122 appearances in City colours and collected six trophies, including the Premier League title in his debut campaign. That kind of durability and consistency offers Maresca a measure of stability at the back just as uncertainty grows in midfield.

So City enter the new season with a familiar split-screen. On one side, a world-class anchor in Rodri, battling to get his body right and facing constant noise about Madrid. On the other, a long-term defensive pillar in Gvardiol, committed until 2031.

How Maresca navigates that contrast will shape far more than just the opening weeks of his reign.