What looked like a minor niggle has become a hamstring injury, and Rodri will not travel with Barcelona for their biggest league test so far this season. The club said on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, that medical tests on the midfielder had found a minor injury to the biceps femoris in his right leg, ruling him out of Sunday's match against Atletico Madrid.
Hansi Flick had played the problem down after Tuesday's Champions League win, explaining that he took Rodri off at half-time because of slight discomfort. The scans told a more serious story. Barcelona gave no return date, saying only that the pace of his recovery will set the timetable.
- The confirmed absence: Atletico away at the Metropolitano on Sunday, 8 November, a top-of-the-table LaLiga meeting with Barcelona on 30 points and Atletico second on 28.
- How it happened: he felt the problem in the first half of the 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Spotify Camp Nou on 3 November, Barcelona's fourth match of the Champions League league phase, and Marc Bernal replaced him at the break.
- How long: Spanish media expect him to be out for around a month, which would also cost him Spain's Nations League games against the Czech Republic and England during the international break.
- His season so far: 14 appearances and 945 minutes in LaLiga and the Champions League since his debut against Athletic Club on 27 August, with one goal and one assist, after his summer move from Manchester City.
- A growing list: he joins Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo and Xavi Espart on the sidelines.
Flick's likely options in the holding role are Bernal, who played the whole second half against Villa, and Frenkie de Jong, who is back in action after a knee injury picked up at the World Cup. Lamine Yamal scored after seven minutes on Tuesday, before Raphinha added two goals in the second half.
Source: FC Barcelona, Goal, El Debate, Yahoo Sports
