La médica dijo que mi rodilla no está rota, pero que debería guardar reposo dos días.

La médica is the feminine form of el médico and means the female doctor.

A few useful points:

• médico / médica is a very standard way to say doctor
• doctora is also common, especially in everyday speech
• In modern Spanish, especially in Spain, using médica for a woman is completely normal

So:

• el médico = the male doctor / doctor
• la médica = the female doctor

Dijo is the preterite form of decir and means said.

It is used here because the speaker is reporting a completed statement made at a specific moment in the past:

• La médica dijo... = The doctor said...

This is often one of the first irregular preterite forms learners meet:

• decir → dijo
• dijeron = they said

So this is not a description of what the doctor used to say; it is one finished event.

After verbs like say, think, know, and believe, Spanish usually uses que to introduce what was said or thought.

So:

• dijo que... = said that...

In English, that is often optional:

• She said my knee...
• She said that my knee...

In Spanish, que is normally required here:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla...

Leaving it out would sound wrong.

Spanish often repeats que when joining two reported clauses after a verb like dijo.

So this structure is very natural:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla no está rota, pero que debería guardar reposo dos días.

Literally:

• The doctor said that my knee isn’t broken, but that I should rest for two days.

In English, the second that is optional. In Spanish, repeating que makes the structure clearer and more natural.

You may also hear:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla no está rota, pero debería guardar reposo dos días.

That is understandable, but repeating que is very common and often stylistically better.

Spanish can use either a possessive or a definite article with body parts, depending on the structure.

Here, mi rodilla is used because the sentence is simply identifying whose knee we are talking about:

• mi rodilla = my knee

Spanish very often uses the instead of my with body parts when an indirect object makes ownership clear:

• Me duele la rodilla = My knee hurts
• literally: The knee hurts to me

But in this sentence, there is no such structure, so mi rodilla is perfectly natural.

Because this describes a state or condition, not an essential characteristic.

• estar roto/a = to be broken
• ser is generally not used here

So:

• La rodilla está rota = The knee is broken
• La rodilla no está rota = The knee is not broken

This is a very common pattern in Spanish:

• está abierta = it is open
• está cerrada = it is closed
• está rota = it is broken

Use estar for the resulting condition.

Because rota agrees with rodilla, which is a feminine noun.

• la rodilla = feminine singular
• therefore the adjective must also be feminine singular:
  • rota

Compare:

• el brazo está roto = the arm is broken
• la pierna está rota = the leg is broken

This kind of agreement is very important in Spanish.

Yes, rota literally means broken.

In a medical context, no está rota usually means the knee is not broken, and depending on context it may suggest there is no serious structural break or rupture.

However, remember that body parts are not always described exactly the same way in English and Spanish in every medical situation. In real life, a doctor might also say things like:

• no está fracturada = it isn’t fractured
• no hay rotura = there is no tear/break
• no parece haber una lesión grave = there doesn’t seem to be a serious injury

But as a learner, you can understand no está rota here simply as it isn’t broken.

Debería means should.

It comes from deber and is the conditional form. In this sentence it expresses a recommendation or advice, not a strict command:

• debería guardar reposo = should rest / should get some rest

This sounds softer and more professional than a direct command like:

• debe guardar reposo = must / has to rest or is supposed to rest

So debería is a good match for medical advice.

Guardar reposo is a common medical expression meaning to rest or more specifically to stay at rest / observe rest.

It is more formal and more medical than descansar.

Compare:

• descansar = to rest
• guardar reposo = to rest / remain inactive / follow rest instructions

A doctor is very likely to use guardar reposo when giving advice after an injury.

So this sentence sounds medically natural:

• debería guardar reposo dos días

Whereas descansar would sound more general:

• debería descansar dos días

That is also understandable, but guardar reposo fits the context better.

In Spanish, a duration can often be expressed directly without adding a preposition.

So:

• guardar reposo dos días = to rest for two days

Spanish often does this with lengths of time:

• Estuve allí tres semanas = I was there for three weeks
• Trabajó dos horas = He/She worked for two hours

You could also hear:

• guardar reposo durante dos días
• guardar reposo por dos días

But the version without a preposition is very common and natural.

Yes. Durante dos días would also be correct.

So these are all possible:

• guardar reposo dos días
• guardar reposo durante dos días
• guardar reposo por dos días

The shortest version, guardar reposo dos días, is very natural Spanish.

In many contexts:

• no preposition = simple, direct, very common
• durante = a bit more explicit
• por = possible, though sometimes less neutral depending on region and style

For a learner, the important thing is that Spanish does not need a direct equivalent of English for here.

This is a very good question. Spanish can sometimes keep the present after a past reporting verb if the information is still considered true or relevant now.

So:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla no está rota
  can mean the doctor said this, and it is still true now that the knee is not broken.

If you said:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla no estaba rota

that would also be possible, but it places the statement more firmly in the past, as reported speech.

In everyday Spanish, both patterns can appear depending on how the speaker views the information.

Very roughly:

• dijo que no está rota = the speaker treats it as still valid now
• dijo que no estaba rota = more backshifted, more clearly reported from the past

Yes. Spanish often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Here, debería could grammatically refer to I, he, she, or you (formal) depending on context, but in this sentence the meaning is clear:

• mi rodilla is not the thing that should rest
• the person speaking is the one who should rest

So Spanish does not need to say:

• yo debería guardar reposo

It is understood from context.

This is very normal in Spanish.

Yes, but the meaning would change slightly.

• debería guardar reposo = I should rest
• tengo que guardar reposo = I have to rest
• debo guardar reposo = I must / should rest

So debería sounds like advice or recommendation, while tengo que sounds more like necessity or obligation.

A doctor might use any of these depending on how strong the advice is, but debería sounds relatively gentle and professional.

Yes, it is natural and understandable in Spain.

A few especially Spain-friendly features are:

• la médica as a standard feminine professional title
• guardar reposo as a natural medical expression
• direct duration: dos días

A native speaker might also say slightly different versions, such as:

• La médica dijo que mi rodilla no está rota, pero que debo guardar reposo dos días.
• La doctora dijo que mi rodilla no está rota, pero que debería reposar un par de días.

But the original sentence is perfectly natural.