Rodri to undergo back surgery and may miss start of Premier League season

Rodri’s summer of redemption has taken another setback. Manchester City’s World Cup-winning midfielder will undergo minor back surgery, a procedure that could sideline him for the opening weeks of the Premier League season and extend a frustrating injury history that has dogged his last two campaigns.

What happened and why it matters now

The 30-year-old arrived in Qatar as Spain’s captain and left as the World Cup’s Golden Ball winner, but the physical toll of the tournament has now forced an intervention. Sky Sports News understands Rodri will have surgery to address a back issue, a decision that casts doubt over his availability for City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on 23 August. His absence would compound a sequence of setbacks: an ACL rupture in September 2024 limited him to three Premier League appearances last season, while further niggles restricted him to 21 top-flight games in 2025/26. The timing could scarcely be worse for City, who face Crystal Palace away, Coventry at home, Manchester United away and Sunderland at home before the September international break.

Rodri’s contract situation adds another layer of urgency. With one year left on his deal and reported interest from Real Madrid, City will need clarity on his fitness before deciding whether to pursue a new agreement. Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge begins with a squad missing its most influential midfielder at a pivotal moment.

The wider context: injuries, transfers and squad planning

Rodri’s situation is part of a broader pattern at City. The club’s transfer activity this summer has already been shaped by medicals and rehabilitation timelines, with James Trafford’s potential exit to Leeds United highlighting how quickly personnel decisions can shift. Leeds are in talks to sign the England goalkeeper, who made 17 appearances for City last season—four in the Premier League—after returning from Burnley via a £27m buy-back clause. His departure would leave City with Gianluigi Donnarumma as their established first-choice goalkeeper, while City’s defensive midfield options narrow further.

Elsewhere, the off-field noise around City has been dominated by policing costs. A league table of football-related arrests for 2025/26 placed Manchester City at the top with 102 incidents, a figure that underscores the financial strain on public resources. Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police renewed calls for clubs to contribute more to matchday policing, arguing that a £70m annual taxpayer burden “simply cannot continue.” The Premier League responded by pointing to its £90m annual investment in security and crime prevention, but the debate over who foots the bill shows no sign of abating.

What comes next for Rodri and City

The surgery is described as minor, but recovery timelines for elite athletes are rarely straightforward. Rodri’s resilience has been a recurring theme in his public statements, particularly after captaining Spain to World Cup glory. “When you go down, you can rise again,” he told Fox Sports, reflecting on the challenges of the past two years. Yet City cannot afford to gamble on his return timeline. Their opening fixtures demand a midfield anchor capable of dictating tempo against teams likely to sit deep, a role Rodri has perfected.

If he misses the early season, City’s alternatives—Kalvin Phillips, Mateo Kovacic, or academy graduate Rico Lewis—will need to step into a deeper role than they are accustomed to. The absence of a world-class single pivot could expose the limitations of a squad still adjusting to Maresca’s methods. Meanwhile, Trafford’s potential move to Leeds would force City to reshuffle their goalkeeper hierarchy, with Donnarumma likely to start while Josh Noboa and Stefan Ortega remain as backups.

Rodri’s surgery is a setback, but not necessarily a season-defining one—provided the recovery progresses as hoped. For City, the next fortnight will be as much about medical clarity as it is about squad reshaping. The Premier League’s curtain-raiser is now a question mark, and the ripple effects could be felt far beyond the Etihad.

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