Rodri will not get his homecoming at the Metropolitano.

Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that the Spain captain has sustained a minor injury to the biceps femoris in his right leg, the hamstring problem he felt during Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League win over Aston Villa. He came off at halftime for teenager Marc Bernal and went for medical tests at the training ground the next day.

“The tests confirm that he is suffering from a small injury to the biceps femoris of his right leg. He will be unavailable for next Sunday’s match against Atletico Madrid,” the club said in its statement.

Hansi Flick had already seen the warning sign on the bench.

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“I changed Rodri because he had a small discomfort,” the Barcelona coach told reporters after the Villa win.

Fatigue had been building for weeks. Flick rested Rodri as a precaution during Barcelona’s 4-2 Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain two weeks earlier, Fox Sports reported.

A missed return to his old club

Rodri previously played for Atletico Madrid before moving to Manchester City, and Sunday’s trip was going to be his first league return to the Metropolitano as a Barcelona player.

The 30-year-old has been Flick’s spine since his summer move from Manchester City. He has started 11 of Barcelona’s 14 competitive matches this season, logged 945 minutes and chipped in with a goal and an assist. He has missed only the trip to Elche.

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Barcelona travel to Madrid two points clear at the top of La Liga on 30 points, with Atletico in second and Real Madrid three points off the pace. With Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde all also out, Flick’s room to rebuild the midfield is tight. Bernal, the 19-year-old who replaced Rodri on Tuesday, is the obvious in-house pivot.

Atletico carry absences of their own. Midfielder Johnny Cardoso is injured and Morten Hjulmand is suspended, while captain Koke only returned to action for 30 minutes off the bench against Bayern Munich in midweek, according to NBC Sports.

Spain’s Nations League matches at risk

Spanish media have put the absence at up to a month, which would knock Rodri out of Spain’s Nations League fixtures against the Czech Republic on 12 November and England on 15 November. Spain have already secured their place in the quarter-finals, Arab News reports.

If the one-month estimate holds, Rodri’s next chance to play would be Barcelona’s home league match against Villarreal on 22 November.

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