Manchester City midfielder Rodri ruled out of Spain’s World Cup qualifiers

Spain have confirmed Rodri has been ruled out of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers after the Manchester City midfielder was forced off injured in Sunday’s Premier League win over Brentford.

Rodri was forced off after 22 minutes of City’s 1-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium having clutched his hamstring after stretching for a ball, with City continuing to assess the full extent of the injury.

But it is enough to rule Rodri out of this international window, with Luis de la Fuente’s side due to face Georgia on Saturday and Bulgaria on Tuesday.

A statement from the Spanish federation, the RFEF, said: “Rodrigo Hernandez has been withdrawn from the Spain squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Georgia in Elche and Bulgaria in Valladolid due to injury.

“The decision follows medical reports provided by his club to the RFEF medical staff, after he was substituted during Sunday’s match between Brentford and Manchester City.”

It was the latest injury setback for last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in September last year and missed almost the entire season.

He has been feeling his way back to full fitness early in this campaign, but missed City’s win over Burnley last month after feeling pain in his knee, and was then withdraw after an hour of Wednesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Monaco.