Manchester City starter a doubt for Community Shield after injury & transfer talk

Manchester City starter a doubt for Community Shield after injury & transfer talk Manchester City hopes of fielding Rodri in the Community Shield match against Arsenal next month have suffered a double blow, with the player having surgery and Real Madrid opening talks to sign him. Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Rodri has long been one of the key players in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, and Enzo Maresca would likely have been hoping to give the midfielder an equally important role in his version of the team. But Rodri’s chances of featuring in the Community Shield match against Arsenal next month are now next to nothing. For a start, the midfielder remained at the World Cup until the very final day, so his summer holidays won’t end until the start of the week of the Community Shield itself. On top of that, City have confirmed that the player has undergone successful minor back surgery. Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images The procedure is only expected to keep Rodri out for a short period of rehabilitation, but a more significant development is that Real Madrid are now in talks to sign the midfielder. Fabrizio Romano reports that Real Madrid have made contact with Manchester City for Rodri, with club president Florentino Perez giving the green light to the move. Romano claims Rodri’s dream is to play for Real Madrid, and he’s been pushing for the move for a long time. Real have indicated they’re willing to pay more than €50m (£42.8m), though City are expected to ask for even more than that. City are expecting other clubs to join the race, but Rodri has shown his preference for the Madrid move. Negotiations are now set to follow. Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images After the Community Shield, Arsenal won’t face Manchester City in the Premier League until November 28th (though it’s possible the two sides will be drawn against each other in the League Cup fourth round in October). So whilst it now seems exceedingly unlikely Rodri starts the Community Shield game, the situation should be long resolved by the time the two teams meet again. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images