Injuries can change plans in a hurry. When it comes to younger players, injuries can change careers in a hurry. It can even been an injury to another player. For Dani Rodríguez, it might be a case of both.
Rodríguez arrived to La Masia in July of 2020 from Real Sociedad’s Cantera, joining up with Barcelona’s U-16s as one of the top youth prospects in Spanish football. After spending a season with Cadet A, he jumped to the U-18s the next summer. Since that time he’s been on a pretty linear progression in the academy, featuring more for Juvenil A in the 2022-23 season and finding some time with Barça Atlétic last season.
That time under Rafa Márquez was a bit of a mixed bag for the Basque attacker. While clearly good enough for the U-19 level, he made occasional appearances off the bench for the second team, entering in the latter stages of games to be a disrupting force from his natural spot on the left wing. He made 13 total appearances with one start for just over 200 minutes. The silver lining? After a muscle injury kept him out for much of February and March, he returned in time for the promotion play-offs where he picked up his second assist of the campaign with Barça Atlétic.
After dipping his toe in the water, or maybe it was more like a full ankle, this season he was slated to be a regular with Barça Atlétic from the jump. The 19-year-old winger was a bit snake-bitten though, as a hamstring injury kept him on the sidelines until the first week of December. Fortunately, he has hit the ground running, and scoring, since his return.
A fourteen minute cameo against Arenteiro saw him return to the field for the first time in months and score the winner. He played on the left in this cameo.
El gol de Dani Rodríguez en la victoria del Barça Atlètic ante el Arenteiro. Impacto brutal el día de su regreso tras la lesión. Un jugador que impulsará al filial y que seguro tienen controlado arriba. Después lo de Unai Hernández, creciendo cada día. pic.twitter.com/PsJjBOp7RO
— Guillem Borràs Pérez (@Guillembp01) December 1, 2024
A week later came a 45 minute showing against Celta Fortuna, coming on in the place of Noah Darvich for the second half. This time on the right, he contributed a brace with two goals of high quality. Admittedly, the first was better than the second.
DOUBLÉ DE DANI RODRÍGUEZ !! 🤩
L’ailier prometteur du Barça Atlètic revient très fort de blessure avec 3 buts en 2 matchs 🔥
Un profil qui ferait beaucoup de bien dans notre effectif… pic.twitter.com/vFn1erDety
— 𝗙𝗖𝗕 (@BarcaFRNews) December 8, 2024
The second wasn’t too shabby either, thanks to a fancy assist from Aleix Garrido.
DANI RODRIGUEZ OTRA VEZ
EL BARÇA ATLÈTIC CAÍA 0-2 CONTRA EL CELTA FORTUNA Y DANI RODRIGUEZ LO EMPATA CON UN DOBLETE
3 GOLES EN 2 PARTIDOS TRAS VOLVER DE LESIÓN pic.twitter.com/91USCRmxj6
— Martín (@MartinMinan_) December 8, 2024
For his most recent showing, he again came on at halftime to feature on the right, picking up the game-winning assist to Unai Hernández.
Three matches is not a big sample size, but right now Rodríguez is showing both Albert Sánchez and Hansi Flick the best version of himself. A player that is confident with his dribbling and capable of performing on both the left and right. This while doing his most dangerous work inverting onto his left foot from the right side.
With the Copa del Rey starting shortly and Lamine Yamal expected to be on the sidelines, it might just be his moment. Timing and form may work well in his favor. Of course Flick could just trust the players in his first team desperate for minutes, particularly Pau Víctor and Pablo Torre. Or he could go with Noah Darvich, the regular starter for Barça Atlétic on the right wing this season. Ibrahim Diarra and Toni Fernández, who are both viewed as having a higher ceiling than Rodríguez, may not have the proper timeline to jump him in the pecking order. At least not yet. Diarra just made the move and both an injury and paperwork will likely keep him in the stands for a few more weeks. For Toni Fernández, he was dealing with his own injury woes of late, having just returned to training. His preseason with the first team may give him an inside track to some first team minutes, but the 16-year-old is just that – 16 – and the club likely won’t look to rush him.
It’s not a now-or-never situation for Rodríguez, but now could be the first opportunity to see if Hansi Flick is looking at him as a possible option to give Lamine Yamal some much needed rest for the second half of the season.