Man City face major setback as Rodri suffers season-long injury

Due to a significant knee injury, Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City, will miss the remainder of the season. This would severely hurt the team's chances of winning the Premier League for a fifth consecutive year.

The Spain international underwent surgery on Friday, according to City manager Pep Guardiola. The player sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in last week's 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

"He underwent surgery this morning for some meniscus and his ACL," he stated. That means he'll be back next season. The season is now finished.

Guardiola, who also wants to win the Champions League again, would be deeply saddened by Rodri's departure. Rodri is one of City's key players.

Speaking on the eve of his team's Premier League match against Newcastle, the City manager emphasised the significance of the defensive midfielder he has referred to as "irreplaceable" by saying it was the worst news imaginable.

"As a team, we need to figure out how to play for several months when we don't have a key player," he stated.

Everyone is aware of it. Quick recuperation, and he'll face them in competition the following season.Together with him, Nathan Ake, and Oscar Bobb, we are more powerful than we are apart.

"All the injuries we didn't want, but that's what happens in football."

Rodri was instrumental in City's victory over Arsenal in the Premier League last season, and he was voted player of the tournament when Spain won at Euro 2024.

The former Atletico Madrid player has not been in the starting lineup for any of City's last four Premier League losses.

The 28-year-old, who is regarded as a possible winner of the Ballon d'Or, has gone 52 games without losing in the Premier League since February 2023.

Leading the Premier League, Guardiola stated he has several options from his squad of "magnificent players," including Mateo Kovacic, who would be a like-for-like replacement.

"Ilkay Gundogan's Gundo is capable of playing there. Manu (Manuel Akanji) and John Stones have played in that position. So we have an alternative to do it,” he said.
When asked if City would enter the transfer window in January, Guardiola gave a response.

"Today, we'll speak with Txiki (Begiristain, the football director), and we'll assess the situation," he remarked.

"It's closed until January, so we have time to identify any potential issues, and then we'll see."

After joining City in 2019, Rodri had already experienced a difficult start to the campaign. Due to a hamstring injury, he missed the first four games of the season, including the Community Shield.

Just last week, he joined a number of well-known athletes in speaking out against the game's elite players' mounting fixture burden. He expressed concern that players would be "close" to going on strike due to the excessive strain.

Kevin De Bruyne, a midfielder for City from Belgium, will also be sidelined for their trip to Newcastle due to injury.