Rodri to Undergo Back Surgery as Maresca Begins Manchester City Tenure
Enzo Maresca’s first major act as Manchester City manager will be to do without his most important midfielder.
Fresh from lifting the World Cup with Spain and claiming the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player, Rodri now heads not for a lap of honour, but for an operating theatre. The 30-year-old will undergo surgery on a back issue on Monday, Maresca confirmed at his first news conference as City boss.
It is a jarring contrast. One week, Rodri is the heartbeat of a world champion side. The next, he is facing another spell of rehabilitation.
From global peak to operating table
Rodri’s World Cup performances looked like a return to his commanding best. He dictated games, anchored Spain’s midfield with authority and reminded everyone why he is widely regarded as one of the finest in his position. The Ballon d'Or winner appeared to have put a difficult club spell behind him.
Those last two seasons at City have been anything but smooth. An anterior cruciate ligament injury wrecked the bulk of his 2024-25 campaign. Attempts to build rhythm after that were repeatedly cut short by setbacks, leaving him in and out of the side and forcing City to improvise in the area of the pitch they usually control best.
The World Cup suggested the old Rodri was back. The body has had other ideas.
“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,” Maresca said, outlining a simple but significant plan: fix the problem, switch off, then return.
The Italian stopped short of placing any timeline on a comeback. No promises, no dates, just the clear acceptance that City will have to start life under their new coach without the player who knits so much of their football together.
Maresca brushes off Real Madrid rumours
Rodri’s situation has inevitably stirred speculation. A World Cup-winning captain, Golden Ball in hand, uncertain fitness, a new manager, and whispers of interest from Real Madrid – the ingredients are all there.
Maresca, though, cut through the noise.
“Around big players there are always speculations so I am not worried about that,” he said. Calm, clipped, and to the point.
“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.”
No hint of doubt, no suggestion City are preparing for life without him. Just a new manager staking out his position on a cornerstone of the team he has inherited.
City’s early test
For Maresca, Rodri’s absence is an early tactical and emotional test. City have learned before how different they look without their midfield metronome. The structure shifts, the tempo changes, the sense of control can slip.
Now the new head coach must design his opening weeks without the luxury of building around the man who usually gives City their shape and security.
Rodri, meanwhile, faces another recovery, another climb back to the level he reached on the biggest stage of all. He has just reminded the world how high that level is. The question now is how quickly he can reach it again in City blue.
