As Manchester City play their only pre-season friendly before the Premier League season gets underway, Pep Guardiola has been rocked by another injury setback to star midfielder Rodri.
Last season, Rodri’s long-term injury was perhaps the most important factor in City’s struggles that cost them the Premier League title for the first time in four years. Rodri’s absence was felt sharply as no other midfielder could replicate his influence in protecting the defence and supporting the attack.
Spaniard Nico Gonzalez arrived in January for around £50m, before Guardiola’s side added Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for £46m prior to the FIFA Club World Cup.
Tijjani Reijnders of Manchester City running during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Manchester City and Al-Hilal at Camping World Stadium
Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Rodri made a tentative return during that competition, with Reijnders playing an immediate role as fellow midfielder Mateo Kovacic underwent surgery. Now, with Kovacic still ruled out, Rodri has suffered a fresh injury setback for City, paving the way for Reijnders to step up again.
Tijjani Reijnders ready to play wherever Pep Guardiola wants him to
Rodri will miss City’s pre-season friendly in Palermo this weekend after picking up an injury in the Club World Cup defeat to Al Hilal in July. He has returned to training, but Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that the issue could rule him out of the start of the Premier League season.
Guardiola said Rodri won’t be ‘really really fit’ until after the September international break, around the same time Kovacic could be back. So that may put more responsibility on Reijnders to hit the ground running.
Rodri reacts at full-time following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Manchester City and Al-Hilal.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Speaking before the Palermo friendly, Reijnders has offered a boost to Guardiola by offering to play wherever he is needed. “In the Club World Cup, I played three roles in the midfield and I want to be a midfielder who can play in all of those roles,” he told City’s website.
“I want to play where the manager wants me to play, I will play and I will do my best of course.”
Tijjani Reijnders already knows how to replace Rodri at Man City
In over 100 games for AC Milan, Reijnders was predominantly used as a traditional central midfielder, playing 65 times in the middle (according to TransferMarkt). That is where most of his goals came from, netting 14 of his total 19 strikes in a balanced role.
Manchester City's Spanish head coach Pep Guardiola gives instructions to Manchester City's Dutch midfielder #04 Tijjani Reijnders during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
However, his 22 games at number six will offer City some versatility that could be useful in Rodri’s possible absence, in a similar way that Nico Gonzalez and Ilkay Gundogan deputised there at times last season.
Another option for Guardiola could be new captain Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder can play in any central position or also out wide, but he increasingly found himself used as a holding midfield option last season as City wrestled with a system that could thrive without Rodri.
Perhaps a combination of two midfielders may work for the opening month of the season as Rodri finds his fitness, with Reijnders ready to be a part of that solution.