**Manchester City are lining up a return to the matchday squad for long-term absentee Rodri against Bournemouth on Tuesday night, according to reports in Spain.**
The 28-year-old has been sidelined for the former Premier League champions since the end of September, when he was withdrawn from action in the first-half of a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the top-flight owing to a serious double knee injury.
Having undertaken surgery on anterior cruciate ligament damage, Rodri was ruled out of action for the majority of the season, if not the entirety of the campaign, despite the player himself insisting that he did not feel as though his 2024/25 calendar was over.
Returning to full first-team training with the Manchester City squad at the end of April, following a number of weeks of individual work at the City Football Academy, Pep Guardiola revealed that the Spain international was making significant progress.
Quizzed on whether any recently returning names could make appearances in the matchday squad or on the pitch against Bournemouth in the Premier League this week, the Manchester City manager told a recent news conference, “We’ll see.
“Some players are better. Rodri is even better day by day, we’ll see,” he added, at a time when the fitness of Mateo Kovacic has remained unknown following his absence against Crystal Palace in Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup Final.
And despite the lack of commitment to a firm answer from Guardiola over Rodri’s availability in a crunch clash when it comes to the club’s UEFA Champions League hopes, fresh reports from Spain have offered some exciting news for City supporters.
According to the [information of AS’ Aritz Gabilondo](https://as.com/futbol/vuelve-el-balon-de-oro-n/), Rodri will be included in Manchester City’s matchday squad list for Tuesday night’s all-important Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.
It is explained that while Pep Guardiola is due to include the Ballon d’Or winner in his squad for the first time since September owing to a long-term knee injury, the midfielder is unlikely to start but could see some on-field minutes from the substitute’s bench during the game.
**This is a developing story. More to follow.**