Overview
- Rodri has finished a tailored rehabilitation programme and trained normally with the first team after two short substitute appearances of 27 and 26 minutes.
- Barcelona's coaching staff are deciding whether his maiden start should come in the league away at Valencia or in the Champions League tie with Feyenoord.
- The club plans to rotate Rodri with youngster Marc Bernal so the new signing is available for the season's most important matches.
- Barcelona paid about €60 million up front for Rodri with add-ons reported to take the package toward €76.5 million and he missed a normal preseason after a World Cup campaign and a minor back procedure.
- The cautious rollout aims to minimise re‑injury risk given Rodri's recent ACL history and to keep him fresh for Spain duty, meaning he may start fewer matches early on but be prioritised for high‑impact fixtures.