World Cup hero Rodri to undergo back surgery ahead of Man City’s new season | Football News

Spain and Man City midfielder Rodri will need surgery and rest before returning to the team, new coach Maresca has said.

Manchester City’s Rodri, who lifted the World Cup with Spain last week and was named the tournament’s best player, will undergo surgery next week, coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

Maresca, speaking at his unveiling as Man City’s new manager on Friday, did not say how long it would take for Rodri to recover from his latest injury.

The Spaniard tore his ACL in 2024 and endured a dismal campaign last season before leading Spain to their second World Cup title and receiving the Ballon d’Or award in Sunday’s final.

City’s Italian head coach, who took over at the former English Premier League champions after the departure of their iconic, multi-title-winning boss Pep Guardiola, has said he wants the former Ballon d’Or winner to stay at the club amid doubts over his future.

“Around a great player, there’s always speculation, so I’m not worried about that,” Maresca said.

“I think it’s not good because he also won the World Cup. He was one of the best players and I think every manager wants to have Rodri because he is a top player,” Maresca said. “But now (he’s had) surgery, I think Monday, and he needs a vacation. He needs to rest, he needs to recover, and then he’ll be back here with us.”

The 46-year-old, who was previously part of Guardiola’s coaching staff, said he felt like he had come home after spells at Leicester and Chelsea and faced the challenge of following one of the greatest managers of all time.

In his best season, Guardiola won 17 major trophies at City, including six Premier League titles and the first Champions League crown in 2023.

He has won 35 major titles during his coaching career, including at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“First of all, I would like to say that this is a great opportunity because the reason why this team chose to follow me means that it is an opportunity for me,” he said. “I’ve said many times that I see Pep as maybe the best coach in the world in the last 20-25 years, but it’s difficult. It’s good. It’s an opportunity.”

Maresca is in his third spell at City, where he became academy coach in the 2020-21 season and then Guardiola’s assistant in 2022-23 – a year in which the team won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.

“Maybe the reason the club made me is that they see the same mentality as the previous manager, and we always try to be aggressive on the ball, control the game, try to be the ones who impose our ideas,” he said. “And try to do the most important thing in football, which is to win the game at the end.”