Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City brought Rodri back too soon after his injury, but he thinks the midfielder is finally getting back to his best.

Rodri, who plays for Spain, pushed himself to recover from an ACL injury in just eight months. That ended up causing more problems; he kept picking up more injuries, and it really affected his season.

People around the club noticed. Some thought Rodri played too much at last summer’s Club World Cup, especially considering the rough conditions in America.

Guardiola said both Rodri and the club have learned from those mistakes. Rodri kept getting muscle injuries, which cost him almost all of October. He only played a minute in November, then disappeared again until the New Year.

“We came back too early,” Guardiola said. “We wanted him back, and he wanted it even more. But we rushed it, and that made things worse. It’s a lesson for us.”

It’s been about 18 months since Rodri’s original injury, but he returned early to play in the World Cup and other matches.

“He’s getting a lot better now,” Guardiola said. “That last step back to his best – we wanted it sooner, but he just needed more time. He’s still not quite there, but you see it in his attitude, in training, and in the way he plays. He’s a special player.”

Rodri’s ready to play against Newcastle this Saturday, while City waits for a decision on an FA misconduct charge. He’s got 18 months left on his contract, and Guardiola made it clear he wants Rodri to stay longer.

“I’d love for him to sign an extension,” Guardiola said. Rodri is Rodri. He’s smarter; he understands the game more now. And you can tell when he’s on the pitch; his teammates just feel more confident. That’s experience. That’s timing. Some players just step up on the big stage.”

Manchester City and the rest of the Premier League are still stuck waiting. It could be more than a year before anyone gets answers about those 115 charges hanging over the city's head. Christian Purslow, who used to run things at Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Chelsea, doesn’t see this wrapping up anytime soon. Everyone’s just hanging around for a verdict.

City’s been locked in this legal fight with the Premier League for ages, and even though the independent hearing wrapped up, there’s still no end in sight. They’re accused of breaking financial rules, supposedly between 2009 and 2018. The city says they’ve done nothing wrong. Actually, people throw around the number 115, but if you count everything, it’s closer to 130 possible breaches. By the way, during those years, City picked up three league titles.

You’d think things would pick up pace by now, but Purslow isn’t holding his breath. On ‘The Football Boardroom’ podcast with Henry Winter, he pretty much said predicting when this will end is pointless. If City do get found guilty and decide to appeal, which, honestly, why wouldn’t they? Thatappeal, the whole process could drag out another three, six, nine, or even twelve months. And while they’re reviewing any guilty verdict, the actual punishment gets kicked even further down the line.

Purslow doesn’t think there’s a quick fix coming, either. “I don’t see this ending the way the APT case did, with an out-of-court settlement between the league and City,” he said. He’s dead set against the idea of both sides just shaking hands and agreeing on a punishment just to move on. He thinks that would be a huge mistake and, really, impossible to keep everyone happy. In his eyes, the smart move is to let the lawyers and the legal process handle it; everyone signed up for this system, after all.

Bottom line, he says, is simple. As slow and frustrating as it is, letting the judges decide is the only way to set a real precedent. And if you look at how things have gone before, that means sporting sanctions. We’re talking big points deductions, maybe even relegation.