Rodri walked off at the interval of Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League win over Aston Villa at the Spotify Camp Nou on Tuesday. The midfielder signalled muscular discomfort and asked to be replaced. Marc Bernal came on in his place.

Hansi Flick told Movistar that the midfielder “felt some muscular discomfort and we have to wait until the morning.” He did not specify the muscle group. Associated Press reporting described the problem as right-calf discomfort and framed the substitution as precautionary.

The scan is due on Wednesday. Barcelona then travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday for the Matchday 12 fixture, kick-off at 9pm local time, four days after the Villa match. “We have four days to recover and we will face the match,” Flick said on Movistar.

30 against 28 at the top

Barcelona lead La Liga with 30 points from 11 games, two clear of Atletico Madrid and three ahead of Real Madrid. A home win for Diego Simeone’s side would level them with the champions on the night and reopen the title race before a third of the season has been played.

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Rodri joined the champions from Manchester City in the summer, one of the signings NBC Sports highlighted as evidence of Barcelona’s title-defence push.

18 games, then a clean sheet

The 3-0 win over Unai Emery’s Villa delivered Barcelona’s first Champions League clean sheet since April 2025, a 4-0 group-stage win over Borussia Dortmund. The side had conceded in 18 consecutive matches before the interval on Tuesday, according to Goal.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring after seven minutes. Raphinha added two in the second half, in the 52nd and 64th minutes.

Flick credited the back line. “Everyone put in an amazing performance, we were very solid and defended very well,” he said.

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Bernal held the second half

Bernal ran out the second 45 minutes in central midfield and is first in line if Rodri sits out. Flick did not spell out a Plan B beyond the one already on the pitch on Tuesday.

If Wednesday’s scan is clean, Rodri is likely to start at the Metropolitano. If not, Bernal keeps the role. Kick-off in Madrid is at 9pm local time on Sunday.

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