Rodri is back. For real this time. He has played in 16 of the last 17 City matches (last Saturday, Guardiola gave him a rest). In all the important ones, including eight consecutive ones in the Premier League, playing as a starter. There are no more discomforts. There are no more breaks. Just before traveling to Madrid, the best midfielder in the world has finally regained his best level. Why?
Before that, this date must be noted: October 5, 2025. The reason will be known a few lines later.
This story begins months before Rodrigo Hernández (Madrid, 29 years old) suffers a serious knee injury on September 22, 2024. As mentioned, this story begins a few months earlier. Rodri had played 64 matches, mostly complete, in the 23/34 season when he was crowned European champion with Spain. He exceeded by far the 5,500 minutes in a football routine repeated since 2019, the year he arrived at City. It was five seasons playing around 65-70 matches per year. And in every season, the starting method was the same. He finished one year, had three or, at most, four weeks off, and started again. With a handful of training sessions, straight into competition.
This was also the case last summer. After coming out well from the Club World Cup (his return after recovering from the cruciate ligament), which ended for City on July 1, he rested for less than four weeks. He returned on July 28. He couldn't play on August 16, but on the 23rd, he was already playing an official match with that scarce amount of training.
On September 3, still in 2025, in an interview with this newspaper, he said: "My current goal, as the season has just started, is not to play every match. For example, in my case, coming from playing on Sunday and playing again two or three days later doesn't make much sense considering the knee. These things are studied a lot by the doctors, and the coach and I take it into account." He explained this at the Ciudad del Fútbol, as he was concentrated with the national team in what was his return. In that period, he stuck to his own impressions and, supported by De la Fuente, played 28 minutes against Bulgaria and 17 against Turkey, little more than exercises in already decided matches.
On September 8, still in 2025 in case anyone had lost track, he returned to Manchester and kept playing. On the 14th, 76 minutes against United. On the 18th, 60 minutes against Napoli. On the 21st, 90 minutes against Arsenal. That's 226 minutes in a week. Three consecutive matches. Exactly what he didn't want. On the 24th (Huddersfield in the EFL Cup) and the 27th (Burnley in the Premier League), he didn't take to the field because he already felt discomfort. He tried on October 1 against Monaco (61 minutes) and on the 5th against Brentford. But at 22 minutes... "Discomfort in the hamstrings." That's what the information from City said on, it's worth remembering, October 5. Here is the important date.
Until that day, Rodri had been unable to do what is happening now, as of March 2026: playing eight consecutive league matches as a starter after the injury and regaining the form that earned him the Ballon d'Or. What happened on October 5 last year then? Something clicked in his head. He needed to stop to return to the old ways.
Because what Rodri had done, after a whole season injured, was to start the season as usual: with almost no training. And of course, his body, not just his knee, suffered. He didn't quite get going, didn't feel entirely well, and the player realized he needed to prepare properly not only for this season but to extend his sports career, something he also explained in the interview last September with this newspaper: "The injury will extend my sports career because, whether you like it or not, I've been giving my legs, my body a break for a year... No one wants an injury like that, but the positive side is that."
This translated into several weeks of doing a kind of preseason like the old days in football. A special plan at all levels where the entire Manchester City team was involved (coaching staff, fitness trainers, physios, recovery specialists, nutritionists, etc...). That is the key to what is happening now. Rodri's secret is that, after trying as he did before the injury, on October 5, he changed and decided to do a preseason like in the past.
Guardiola was asked about him the other day. "Wow! What a player! Right? We've missed him a lot for a long time, but little by little, he's returning to what he was," explained the coach, who accepted and supported Rodri's decision even though, whenever he had him available, he put him to play, as crucial as he is for City's game. Around Rodri, the team organizes itself, attacks and defends better, the ball flows differently. The physical data provided by various systems (distances covered, high-intensity effort meters, displacements, turns, accuracy, etc...) are better than before the injury.
Those preseason weeks in the middle of the season mean that Rodri's figure returns today with all that entails. First for Real Madrid, who will face a much-improved team with the Spaniard on the pitch on Wednesday. A match with some intrigue because, according to some reports, Real Madrid's interest in the player has been reignited. He, unaware of this matter, is only thinking about City. Well, City and, of course, the World Cup, where he will be the first captain (if Morata doesn't go) of the top favourite.
The World Cup is looming, and the exponential growth of Zubimendi, both at Arsenal and in the national team during Rodri's absence, has the coach, Luis de la Fuente, already thinking about how to field both together. Because it's not realistic to consider Rodri as Zubimendi's substitute. And it's not realistic, especially considering Spain's absences in that area of the field, to think of Zubimendi on the bench. The most enthusiastic fans remember that 16 years ago, Vicente Del Bosque had the same issue upfront with Xabi Alonso and Busquets, and that turned out well.