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Manchester City have had to cope without Rodri for much of the first half of the season but have benefitted from a FIFA risk.
It was fitting that Rodri was back with the squad as Pep Guardiola opened up in more detail than he ever has about how good the Club World Cup was for Manchester City. A tournament that the manager had said could be a 'disaster' for the squad by the winter is now being recognised internally as the pivotal moment that put them back where they want to be.
"The most important thing is to recover and find within ourselves what we were. That's my main target in this tournament," he said at the end of June. "I want them to feel that this is our path again to be competitive like we have been in eight of the last nine years. After this, let's see what happens.
"Let's see what happens after the final. We will rest for the time the Premier League allow us. Maybe in November, December or January it will be a disaster, we are exhausted and the World Cup has destroyed us. I don't know, it's the first time in our lives that this has happened. We will see when we come back."
The benefits of the Club World Cup certainly weren't evident on the pitch. City played well against Juventus but then suffered a humiliating last-16 exit at the hands of Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. To make matters worse, Rodri picked up a hamstring injury on a ropey-looking pitch in that defeat that further disrupted his return from an ACL injury.
Rodri returned to start three games in a week in September against United, Napoli and Arsenal but that took more out of him and soon after following another return he picked up another hamstring problem at Brentford that has basically seen him sidelined for another ten weeks.
It may be unfair, yet it does not feel like the Club World Cup was beneficial for Rodri's recovery. The fact that he was back in the squad at the City Ground on Saturday however points towards a brighter second half of the campaign.
And when he does return to the pitch, it will be to a team that has rediscovered how to win games and challenge for a league title without him. City have won their last eight matches in a row in all competitions - their longest streak since they won the Club World Cup in December 2023 and returned to England with renewed appetite for silverware - and Guardiola is talking about a team that has found the identity he was looking for out in Florida.
For all the problems that were envisaged around the tournament in summer, and the ones that actually occurred, FIFA's latest power grab has unexpectedly given City the perfect conditions for the squad resets that were badly needed if they were going to become strong again.
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