Manchester City midfielder Rodri will benefit from getting minutes under his belt on international duty for Spain as he bids to ease concerns over his fitness, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
Rodri played the full 90 minutes in City’s**2-1 Premier League defeat**at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend which represented his first league start for 11 months after suffering an ACL injury in September last year.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was briefly back in action towards the end of last season and he also featured at the FIFA Club World Cup, but he limped out of the last-16 defeat to Al-Hilal with a groin issue.
Ahead of the new season, Pep Guardiola initially suggested that Rodri was unlikely to return to full fitness until after this month’s international break, but the midfielder has since played in City’s last two league games and his start at Brighton was a big step on the road to reaching his very best.
Rodri is now in contention to make his first international appearance for Spain in almost a year after being called up to the senior squad ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifiers away against Bulgaria and Turkey, with La Roja facing the former in Sofia on Thursday.
Guardiola has said that he had no contact with Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente before Rodri was named in his squad, but the Citizens boss has no issues with the Euro 2024-winning midfielder representing his country now that “he feels better and needs minutes”.
Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri pictured on September 7, 2024
Rodri himself admitted after starting against Brighton that he is “physically well” and feels “much better than I expected”, providing a huge boost for Man City and Spain supporters.
From a Man City perspective, McInerney does not want to see Rodri handed another 90 minutes in either of Spain’s two World Cup qualifiers, with one eye on the Citizens facing rivals Manchester United in their first Premier League match after the international break on September 14.
Just four days later, Guardiola’s men will welcome Kevin De Bruyne’s Napoli to the Etihad Stadium for their opening League Phase fixture in the Champions League, before travelling to Premier League title rivals Arsenal on September 21 - games that City will want to have Rodri available for.
However, McInerney ‘trusts’ Rodri to know exactly how much to exert himself over the international break, and while representing his country could be perceived by some as “risky”, it should benefit the midfielder in the long run.
A “fit and firing” Rodri is the “most important thing” for Man City
Speaking about Rodri to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “I think he needs football. I think there's going to be a setback at some point. I think it's almost inevitable.
“I think the most important thing for City right now, when looking at the City side, is to have a fit and firing Rodri, and if some games for Spain can help him a little bit - I hope he doesn't play the whole 90 minutes - then that's it.
Manchester City's Rodri on June 18, 2025
“Some football now is better as opposed to none” for Rodri
“If you've got elite level players, they're going to want to play in elite competitions for the national side, so there's not much we can do about it.
“You would like Rodri to play it cautious, but maybe the thing that he actually needs right now is games. Maybe he needs to stretch that muscle and get moving and so on.
“I trust Rodri to understand his body and I think we just have to accept that this is part of his recovery. I don't actually think not randomly play for two weeks would be good for him anyway.
“I actually do feel that some football now is probably better as opposed to none until [Man] United. We've got the derby coming up, then we've got Napoli and Arsenal as well.
“I would much rather Rodri have more football before that than just do nothing for two weeks. I know it's risky, but presuming Rodri doesn't get any injuries - touch wood - then I suspect the best version of Rodri will be having played for Spain as opposed to not playing.
“I think the match fitness for him could be way more important than not playing.”
> Click this link to view and listen to the full discussion.
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