Manchester City desperately waiting for the return of “struggling” midfield maestro from injury

Manchester City fans are eagerly waiting for the return of their midfield maestro. (Image credits - Heute, License Details)

Manchester City's backbone of the midfield – Rodri – is still suffering to regain fitness from his hamstring injury as Pep Guardiola waits for his return to the first team.

The Ballon d'Or winner suffered a hamstring injury against Brentford in October, and since then he has played only one minute for the club when he came on as a substitute against Bournemouth in November.

Since arriving at the club from Atletico Madrid back in 2019, the 29-year-old has been one of the most influential figures in the team alongside Kevin de Bruyne. However, he has struggled to cope with fitness following the serious knee injury last season for which he missed almost the whole season.

City boss Guardiola has emphasised his importance many times and has assured the fans that his situation is getting better, while his return to the team is just a matter of a few weeks.

However, the club is forced to take care of him and make sure he's not rushed into playing football again, as it could relapse his injury and make it worse for both the team and the player.

"He is suffering; he is struggling because he wants to come back, but I want to protect him. I want to be sure right now that we minimise the risk. This is what we want,” said Guardiola in a press conference. (sic)

He further added that, "I want him desperately right now, in Madrid, or the next one, but after that six more weeks, he is out?" No sense. When you have an injured ACL, your body is completely different.” (sic)

Rodri had missed the start of the season and has featured in just eight fixtures for the Cityzens in the Premier League and the Champions League. As per reports, he is expected to return mid-December.