“I hope they give him the Ballon d’Or” – La Liga manager backs Rodri Hernandez for 2024 honour

World football has been rocked in the last couple of days by two serious knee injuries. On Sunday, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri Hernandez ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the reigning Premier League champions, and only an hour or so late, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen suffered a complete tear of the rotular knee tendon whilst in goals for Barcelona.

Getafe head coach Jose Bordalas paid tribute to both during his press conference on Tuesday, and he also labelled Rodri as his candidate to win this year’s Ballon d’Or (via Relevo).

“Before analysing tomorrow’s game, I wanted on behalf of the whole squad to give a lot of encouragement to Ter Stegen for the serious injury of last weekend. Also to his whole family, to the people of Barcelona and to wish him a good recovery and that he continues to delight us on the pitch, which is what we want.

“Also Rodri, a spectacular player, great. I hope they give him the Ballon d’Or because I think he deserves it. He’s having incredible seasons and it’s a joy to watch. I hope he has a speedy recovery.”

It’s expected that Rodri will miss out on the award, with reports stating that Vinicius Junior has been notified of his successful pursuit. For now, the Spain midfielder won’t be thinking about anything other than his recovery.