On Thursday, while recovering from his ACL knee injury in Brazil, star Rodrygo visited his old home, and Santos FC tweeted, “YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T GOING TO VISIT YOU, DIDN’T YOU?”
Before joining Real Madrid in a €45 million deal in 2019, he scored 17 goals in about 80 games for Santos; he returned and saw the changes at the club and met those who were most important in his early journey. It was a special afternoon for Santos and Rayo, where the club said, “Come back anytime, Rodrygo Goes!”
"VOCÊ ACHOU QUE EU NÃO IA TE VISITAR, NÉ?" 🥹⚡ Voltar para casa, ver as mudanças e reencontrar o pessoal que foi essencial em seus primeiros passos. Uma tarde especial para o Santos e para o nosso Rayo. Volte sempre, Rodrygo Goes! 🤍🖤 https://t.co/iWMpAqeGPa
— Santos FC (@SantosFC) November 13, 2026
On this emotional moment, Rodrygo tweeted, “Who would’ve thought, huh, kid? Thank you @SantosFC! Forever a Vila boy,” while talks about him returning on loan for the first 6 months of 2027 are also ongoing. However, Santos’ club director has clearly denied any kind of discussion.
Rodrygo practiced at the ground of his old team, Santos FC. Recovering from a knee injury, Rodrygo continued his recovery on Thursday at Brazil’s Rei Pele training center.
On X, Rodrygo posted some snaps reminiscing about old memories, showing him in Santos’s famous black-and-white jersey, standing in front of a big childhood wall painting and the newly built dressing room ‘Sala Rodrygo’.
Quem diria hein moleque? 🥹🙏🏾 Obrigado @SantosFC ! Pra sempre um menino da Vila 🖤🤍 https://t.co/aaBYsQ7TbM
— Rodrygo Goes (@RodrygoGoes) November 13, 2026
During his visit to Santos FC, Rodrygo reminisced about his old memories and took part in various activities there. He toured Santos’ training ground and met the staff and academy players. He also had pictures taken with the people present there. Rodrygo completed this visit as a way to show respect to his childhood club and as part of his injury rehabilitation process.
Rodrygo is preparing to return
During this international break, he’s working on improving his fitness because Rodrygo injured the ACL and meniscus in his right knee during the match against Getafe on March 2, after which he had surgery in March and also had to miss the World Cup.
The Real Madrid forward, who scored 3 goals and made 4 assists in 27 matches last season, has now started practicing alone with the ball and is slowly regaining his fitness, though Rodrygo hasn’t joined the full team training yet. If everything goes well, he’s preparing to make his comeback on the field in the Copa del Rey match on December 16.
🚨💣 BREAKING: Rodrygo is preparing to return on the 16th of DECEMBER, for the first Copa del Rey game of the season. @diarioas 🔜 https://t.co/b2BROqpwfL
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) November 12, 2026
This upcoming match will be in the Copa del Rey, though the name of the opposing team isn’t confirmed yet. In this busy schedule, the match falls between two La Liga games, first at home against Osasuna and then away against Deportivo La Coruna. In such a situation, Rodrygo’s return will be a big boost for Jose Mourinho and the whole team. This extra depth in the squad will really help in handling all the upcoming matches.
