Pep Guardiola has delivered a measured assessment of Rodri\u2019s recovery, warning that the midfielder is unlikely to regain his peak form until next summer\u2019s World Cup. Guardiola framed the season as one of careful management rather than immediate return to elite levels.<\/p>\n
Rodri\u2019s absence was felt as City failed to defend their Premier League crown. The eight-time winners actually failed to win any silverware for the first time since Guardiola\u2019s first year in charge (2016\u201317), and the team have shown fragility in the early stages of this season. City dropped points from a winning position against Monaco in midweek, and two defeats from their opening six Premier League games means they are already five points behind early pacesetters Liverpool.<\/p>\n
Much had been expected of Rodri following his Ballon d\u2019Or win in 2024, but Guardiola urged patience. \u201cRodri has been and is an outstanding player,\u201d Guardiola said. \u201cEverybody knows it. But I said to Rodri, and maybe he struggled to understand: it\u2019s not about six months or seven months (after the injury). \u2018Ah, (after) eight months I\u2019ll play and be the Rodri of before\u2019. No.<\/p>\n
\u201cRodri will be good at the World Cup with Spain. In the World Cup it will be the best Rodri and next season will be the best Rodri. This season will be how we handle it, step by step.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s normal, it was one year on the massage table. The body changes, the rhythm changes. It\u2019s a question of time. If he\u2019s healthy and works with what he has to do, he will be back.\u201d<\/p>\n
City signed Nico Gonz\u00e1lez from FC Porto in January for a reported \u00a350 million ($61.9 million) to supplement midfield options while Rodri continues his recovery. The Spaniard has been steady yet unspectacular so far. Guardiola defended the young signing and reminded reporters of Rodri\u2019s own adaptation period in England. \u201cHe is so young,\u201d Guardiola said. \u201cRodri has been with us seven years. He is not (here) even one year and in a tough period. There are many things that step by step he is going to take, because he is open-minded and incredibly coachable.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all the players are. He is and he will get it…Even Rodri\u2014the first season\u2014struggled. It\u2019s normal. New environments and you need a process to understand it. Nico is Nico. He has to use his talent as Nico. He can improve a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Guardiola says Rodri will reach his best at the World Cup; City must manage this season carefully…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,969],"tags":[1081,1064],"class_list":["post-3525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-premier-league","tag-adaptation","tag-ballon-dor-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}