Rodri to Undergo Back Surgery as Manchester City Begins New Era
Enzo Maresca’s first significant act as Manchester City manager will not be on the training ground or in the transfer market. It will be overseeing life without his midfield cornerstone, at least for a while.
Rodri, fresh from lifting the World Cup with Spain and being named both Golden Ball and Ballon d'Or winner, will undergo surgery on a back problem on Monday, Maresca confirmed at his unveiling.
The timing is striking.
A week ago, Rodri stood at the summit of the game, the 30-year-old captain driving Spain to glory and reminding everyone why he is widely regarded as the most complete midfielder in world football. Now, as City reset under a new manager, their most important outfield player is heading for the operating table.
“He has surgery on Monday. Then he needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us,” Maresca said, keeping the message clear and controlled.
No return date. No drama. Just a blunt acceptance that City will have to cope without their metronome for an unspecified period.
This is not a new story with Rodri’s body, only a new chapter.
The last two club seasons have been badly fragmented. An anterior cruciate ligament injury wiped out most of his 2024-25 campaign, a brutal interruption for a player who had previously seemed indestructible. The following season never truly settled either, with setbacks and niggles repeatedly pushing him to the fringes of availability.
Yet in the World Cup, he looked reborn. Sharp, dominant, authoritative. The Rodri who dictates games, not just plays in them.
That resurgence makes this latest setback sting even more for City. They had just seen, on the biggest stage, that their midfield anchor was still at his peak. Now they must wait again.
Maresca, though, refused to be drawn into speculation or anxiety, especially around Rodri’s future. Reports in Spain have linked the midfielder with Real Madrid, a predictable swirl of rumours around a player who has just conquered the world with his national team.
The new City boss 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.”
There was no hint of doubt in his voice, no suggestion that City’s relationship with their midfield general is about to fray. For Maresca, the noise is just that: noise.
What matters now is the operation, the recovery, and the careful management of a player who has carried an enormous load for both club and country in recent years.
City know exactly what Rodri gives them when fit: control, security, rhythm. He is the pivot around which their football has spun. Removing him, even temporarily, forces a tactical rethink and tests the depth of a squad that has long leaned on his reliability.
Maresca’s City will be judged on trophies and performances, but in these early weeks, another question hangs over the project: how quickly, and how fully, can Rodri return to being the heartbeat of a new era?
