Man City’s Rodri returns to individual training

Rodri, the winner of the Ballon d’Or, has resumed his Manchester City training.

On Friday, the midfielder worked out at the club’s Etihad Campus as an individual.

Rodri, a 28-year-old Spaniard, has been out of action since September because of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee.

In his absence, the champions of the previous season have lost 20 points in the Premier League to Liverpool and been eliminated from the Champions League.

Rodri completed a number of drills on the first team’s training pitches after the club released video on Friday.

Manager Pep Guardiola has attempted to minimize hopes Rodri might make a quick comeback.

Guardiola once stated in a recent interview that Rodri needs to recover well.

“Step by step, we will see,” he said, “but it’s going really well and he feels really good.”

Chief football news editor, Simon Stone

Every Manchester City fan’s heart will be filled with the images of Rodri running, turning, and kick the ball on the first-team training pitches.

Even the sun rose.

There is still a long way to go before Rodri actually plays a proper game once more, according to manager Pep Guardiola, who has minimized talk of a near-resumption of action.

Rodri has a good chance of playing some part in the final three months of the domestic season, which should make him eligible for the Club World Cup in the USA in June.