MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City has demonstrated its belief in Rodri’s potential return this season by including the injured Ballon d’Or winner in its Champions League squad for the knockout rounds, which was submitted on Friday.

UEFA required updated squad lists for European competitions by midnight on Thursday. While teams were permitted to make three new signings during the winter transfer window, City opted to leave out young defender Vitor Reis, who transferred from Palmeiras last month.

Rodri aims to make his comeback around April, estimating a recovery timeline of “six to seven months” following his ACL injury to his right knee sustained during a match against Arsenal on September 22. The quarterfinals of the Champions League are set to begin on April 8, so his estimated return would come just in time for the latter stages of the competition.

The English champions face a challenging endeavor to remain competitive in the tournament without their key midfielder, Rodri, who played a pivotal role by scoring the decisive goal in the 2023 final against Inter Milan.

In the upcoming knockout phase, Manchester City will square off against Real Madrid in a two-leg playoff, with matches scheduled for next Tuesday and February 19. The eventual victor will advance to face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.

Among the new additions to coach Pep Guardiola’s Champions League lineup are midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who could step in for Rodri, forward Omar Marmoush, and defender Abdukodir Khusanov.