Rodri targets early return to Manchester City action following knee injury and has “already started walking” | OneFootball

Manchester City could yet see Rodri feature for the club this season, the player himself has hinted during a new interview in Spain after winning the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

The 28-year-old was recently crowned the best footballer on the planet over the past year, defeating intense competition largely from the Spanish game to become the first defensive midfielder to win Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus in 1990.

The accolade and crowning moment in the French capital of Paris came after Rodri won the Premier League for a fourth consecutive season with Manchester City, and the European Championships with Spain in a Player of the Tournament-winning showing over the summer.

But despite defeating competition from the likes of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, Dani Carvajal, and Jude Bellingham to the Ballon d’Or trophy, Rodri’s season would not go any further due to a serious knee injury sustained earlier this campaign.

Despite being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign by Pep Guardiola and Manchester City medical professionals, the player himself has other ideas when it comes to a return to action for the club.

Speaking during a new interview with El Partidazo de COPE, Rodri has revealed his clear intention to return to the field of play for Manchester City before the end of the ongoing season across competitions.

“I have in mind to play this season,” Rodri admitted on Monday evening.

“Now the seasons are getting longer and the (FIFA Club) World Cup ends on July 13, I have in mind to return this year, as a challenge,” he continued.

Offering an update on his recovery from knee surgery after sustaining a double injury to his knee in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal earlier this season, Rodri said, “I’ve already started walking and I’m feeling better than I thought.

“(Barcelona midfielder) Gavi used to say: ‘I need to play football’. At my age you see it differently, you have time to rest and recover well.”

Manchester City qualified for the 2025 edition of the revamped FIFA Club World Cup in the United States via their UEFA Champions League win in 2023, and the winning goal being scored by Rodri in Istanbul against Serie A giants, Inter.

Rodri’s comments do appear to suggest that he has little to no hope of featuring for Manchester City in any of their other remaining competitions this season, as the club look to source a solution to his absence in the squad or in the winter transfer market.

Among the names to have been tipped as possible players of interest to Manchester City are Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, Torino’s Samuele Ricci, Atalanta’s Ederson, and Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella.