Image Credit: @SkyFootball Twitter

Sad news broke on March 3rd that Real Madrid winger Rodrygo has suffered a new injury following Real Madrid’s recent shock 1-0 defeat to Getafe CF which will see the Brazilian out of action for approximately 10 months. It has been reported that the 25-year-old has suffered a rupture to his ACL and meniscus in his right leg which will result in Rodrygo being made unavailable for the remainder of this season, for the World Cup as well as most likely the rest of 2026. It is quite unfortunate news for a player who has had a difficult 2025 and now looks set to miss the entirety of 2026 due to injuries. This unexpected news might also play a huge role in Rodrygo’s future at Real Madrid as the Brazilian winger as for a long time now had plenty of rumours and links about his potential exit from the club since before the 2025 Summer Transfer Window.

Manchester City links in 2025

During the latter stages of the 2024/2025 season, Rodrygo’s minutes and guaranteed starts were slowly being diminished by then Real Madrid Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti which raised questions about the Brazilian’s future at the club. Xabi Alonso was then appointed Real Madrid’s new Head Coach ahead of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the former Bayer Leverkusen manager spoke highly of Real Madrid’s number 11 and was quoted in a pre-match interview saying:

“Rodrygo is a Real Madrid player. He is a spectacular player and we will need him” – Xabi Alonso 2025

However the Head Coach’s words did not match his actions as throughout the Club World Cup tournament, Rodrygo only made 3 appearances out of a possible 6 = in the entire competition. 1 start and 2 substitute appearances which adds up to a total of 110 minutes of Club World Cup football with Rodrygo also not once being able to play a full 90 minutes. Alonso claimed the reason for Rodrygo’s lack of involvement stems from a “technical decision” and had nothing to do with his future however the Brazilian winger’s lack of involvement only went to further the speculation on his potential exit. Manchester City was seemingly the likely destination as Pep Guardiola viewed Rodrygo as the perfect replacement for their own Brazilian winger, Savinho, who looked set on joining Tottenham Hotspurs. As we all know now, Manchester City’s higher ups blocked Savinho’s move to Tottenham which also meant that Rodrygo would stay at Real Madrid.

Unwanted record and Injuries

Even though Rodrygo has remained at his boyhood club, things have not panned out well for the 25-year-old as his limited game time had continued throughout the 2025/2026 season which as contributed to the Brazilian having his worst goal scoring campaign yet.

  • Games – 27 out of a possible 40
  • Starts – 10 out of a possible 32
  • Average Minutes per Game – 41
  • Full 90 Minute Apps – 3
  • Goals – 3
  • Assists – 4

Things seemed to have gotten much worse for the Brazilian as his limited starts and minutes have all contributed to Rodrygo breaking an unwanted record for any Real Madrid forward. On the 30th November 2025, Real Madrid ended their game against Girona in a 1-1 stalemate however the game would be remembered for Rodrygo being substituted on in the 72nd minute of the game and failing to contribute a goal for Real Madrid for the 30th game in a row which was something no Real Madrid forward had ever had the displeasure of achieving. The goalless streak would continue for Real Madrid’s next 2 games however fortunately in Real Madrid’s Champions League fixture against the club that Rodrygo could have potentially joined in the Summer, Manchester City, Real Madrid’s number 11 managed to end his goal drought however it is now permanently in the record books that Rodrygo is only Real Madrid forward to ever go 32 games in all competitions without scoring a goal.

Following the ending of his goal drought, Rodrygo would then begin a run of form which would see him contribute 6 goals and assists in 7 appearances for the club up until the El Clásico Supercopa de España final where Rodrygo did not contribute any goals however it did start a string of injury woes to follow the Real Madrid winger. Rodrygo would miss Real Madrid’s next 3 games due to a minor knock before returning to the team for their next 3 games only for the Brazilian International to pick up a Tendonitis injury that made him miss Real Madrid’s next 5 games. Rodrygo would then return for the club’s La Liga fixture against Getafe where he seemingly suffered the injuries he has now which has taken him out for the rest of 2026.

Real Madrid Future

After the new broke of Rodrygo’s injury, the player himself released a heartfelt message confirming he will miss the rest of the season and his disappointment in missing the World Cup this year. He ends the message by thanking everyone for their messages and promising to return soon. As mentioned many times previously, Rodrygo is expected to miss the rest of 2026 meaning the player will most likely return to Real Madrid in the middle of the 2026/2027 season which may affect his future for the club since the Real Madrid number 11’s contract ends in the summer of 2028. Meaning that Rodrygo would return to Real Madrid with a year and half left on his contract which may force the higher ups to evaluate the winger’s future depending how he preforms once he returns.