Manchester City will be without midfielder Rodri for matches against Villarreal and Aston Villa this week as the Spanish midfielder continues his recovery from a hamstring injury, manager Pep Guardiola said.

Spain confirmed Monday Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez will not be joining them for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, after suffering a hamstring injury.

Manchester City blew the lead on Sunday in a shock 2-1 defeat at Brighton that extended their troubled start to the Premier League season.

Midfielder Rodri is recovering from a "big injury" sustained during the Club World Cup, likely limiting the Ballon d'Or winner's playing time in the early stages of the new Premier League season, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said.

Mateo Kovacic has undergone surgery on an Achilles injury and will miss the FIFA Club World Cup, Manchester City announced on Monday.

Goals from Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez lifted City up into third in the Premier League heading into Sunday's final round of matches.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is glad to have Spain midfielder Rodri back in training but has no idea yet if he will feature at all in this month's FA Cup final, saying "I'm not a doctor".

City have struggled badly without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who suffered a serious knee injury in September.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti vehemently defended his sides’ decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or award ceremony last year in protest of Vinicius Jr’s snub and said that Rodri, who edged out Vinicius for the award, should have won the prize a year earlier instead of Lionel Messi.

The winners of the ninth edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 will be revealed in the early hours of Thursday (Bangladesh time). The awards recognise the year’s top players in women’s and men’s football at club and national levels and celebrate their performances.

Rodri, who won the Ballon d'Or last month, underwent surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, with manager Pep Guardiola saying he would not play again this season.

“Why would it hurt me? It was my moment, to enjoy with my family. The last thing I’d be thinking about is people who weren’t there, and didn’t want to participate,” Rodri said in an interview with COPE radio.

It was revealed that five of the 99 journalists who voted for this year’s Ballon d’Or left eventual winner Rodri out of their top 10 list while three journos did not have Vinicius Junior, who came second after the Spanish midfielder, in the top 10 of their ballot.

Brazil coach Dorival Junior said that it was an injustice that forward Vinicius Junior did not win the Ballon d’Or this year.

Rodri becoming the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world on Monday did come as a surprise to many, and with ample reasons too as he pipped favourite Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Brazil to lift the most prestigious individual award in football.

"What can I say?," said the Spaniard. "First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it's incredible news for him and for all of us."

While the award has been dominated by Spanish league players, no Spaniard had won since Barcelona great Luis Suarez more than 60 years ago, despite Spain's "golden generation" that won the 2010 World Cup, the 2008 and 2012 Euros.

Vinicius took to social media after finishing second in the prestigious award voting behind Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri.

Rodri, a first-time winner of the award, was instrumental in helping his team win an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League trophy last season. He was also named best player at this year's European Championship after Spain lifted a record-extending fourth title.

A tipping point has seemingly been reached in world football’s increasingly hectic schedule, as evidenced by the several high-profile injuries in recent weeks leading up to the latest FIFA window.