Manchester City need one player that has something “none of us” really have, admits Mateo Kovacic | OneFootball

Mateo Kovacic has shone with excitement over the returning Rodri to Manchester City’s midfield, speaking during a recent media interview.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner made a long-awaited and emotional return to Pep Guardiola’s matchday squad this week and completed the closing stages of a 3-1 win over Bournemouth without issue.

It is the first time that the Spain international has competed within Manchester City’s on-field squad since last September, and the eventual 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium that saw him suffer the serious knee injury that required a lengthy lay-off.

Since then, Manchester City’s standards, ability to compete, and performances as a whole have dropped significantly, the final few weeks of the ongoing season have left them scrambling for UEFA Champions League qualification via a top-five finish in the Premier League.

But Rodri’s return to full fitness and now match action will give the club and its supporters plenty of hope over a much brighter future, perhaps starting immediately with the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

Speaking during a recent interview, Mateo Kovacic spoke highly of his returning teammate Rodri after the Spaniard resumed full training for the first time since recovering from a serious knee injury last September, and made his on-field competitive return on Tuesday night.

“I think he’s recovering amazingly and having him back on the pitch is so nice,” the Croatian midfielder said of the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.

Kovacic continued, “It will be a boost for us to have him because he has that presence that none of us really have because he’s defensively quite big, strong, and covers a lot of ground.

“And in possession he’s calm. So a player that we missed but football is; if somebody is not here, we have to replace him and that’s what we tried to do.”

Tuesday night’s win over Bournemouth meant that Manchester City moved to within just one point of qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League, with one game remaining in the Premier League this campaign.

Pep Guardiola and his players will take on Fulham in their final contest of the season, with the visit to Craven Cottage scheduled for Sunday. Europa League football is already guaranteed for the club, but there will be no doubt that they will want to avoid such an outcome.