Rodri ‘could return for Manchester City THIS season’ – as injured Ballon d’Or winner ‘starts running again’ after knee surgery

Rodri could target a return with Manchester City before the end of the Premier League season with the injured star beginning to run during his rehabilitation, according to reports.

The Ballon d’Or winner’s absence has been devastating on Pep Guardiola‘s side with the reigning champions dropping to fifth in the Premier League standings having won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions and losing seven of those matches.

Rodri has been unavailable since rupturing his ACL just a few matches into the new season and required extensive surgery on the ligament tear that was expected to take the remainder of the season to fully heal.

However, the box-to-box midfielder has given a boost to his underperforming team-mates that he could be back in action far sooner than expected, as reported by The Sun.

The 28-year-old was expected to miss the entirety of the remaining Premier League fixtures, but has impressed medics with his dedication and physical recover post-surgery.

He is already ahead of his rehab programme and has been on the running machine in a bid to strengthen the ligaments that were damaged in City’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal in September.

Pep Guardiola has watched his Man City side collapse during Rodri’s absence this season

The Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t expected to be play a part in the remainder of City’s season

City’s physio team are believed to have been impressed by Rodri’s range of motion and there is a chance he could be back in action for the end-of-season run-in.

Guardiola will be eagerly hoping that is the case with City playing Villa, Wolves, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Fulham during their final five games of the season.

Should they manage to turnaround their current crisis predicament then a returning Rodri at a time when teams are starting to fatigue could prove to be a masterstroke.

Guardiola was previously adamant that his star player wouldn’t be fit this season, but that scenario is now subject to change given the Spain Euro 2024 winner’s recovery progressing better than expected.

If Rodri isn’t able to feature in the final few Premier League games then he could be fit for the new Club World Cup taking place in America throughout June and July.

Rodri has been unavailable since rupturing his ACL just a few matches into the new season

His existing contract runs until 2027, but City are targeting new midfield reinforcements in the January transfer window such is their current torrid form that has become a career-worst for Guardiola.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has emerged as a potential option, while City have also been linked with Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich.