It is the news that Manchester City dreaded. Rodri has suffered an ACL injury. Perhaps the most important player in Pep Guardiola’s side will be sidelined for a significant proportion of the season, according to CBS Sports sources.
The Spain international collided with Thomas Partey in the 15th minute of Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, swiftly falling to the ground after landing awkwardly on his right knee. Unable to continue, Rodri was immediately replaced by Mateo Kovacic. Though he remained at the Etihad Stadium for the remainder of a dramatic contest, he soon underwent tests in Spain that revealed the news that will come as a hammer blow to Pep Guardiola’s side.
It almost seems facile to debate how City might replace Rodri. There is a reason why a defensive midfielder (though such categorization greatly understates his qualities) has a convincing candidature for the Ballon d’Or. Even Guardiola, not one to usually indulge in awards talk, was pitching him for that very award after the Arsenal draw, describing him as the best holding midfielder in the world.
Rodri offers City everything. No one in their side, perhaps in any side, passes the ball more frequently, accurately or progressively. His dominance in duels allows those ahead of him to push up high with and without the ball, knowing that if the opposition break through City’s first line they won’t get through the second. Then there is the goals, which always seem to come at the most crucial of moments. Cup final winners, title race swingers: these are Rodri’s stock trade.
Even his brief absences are profoundly felt. Since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019, Rodri has been on the losing side of 11 percent of matches he has played in City colors. When he is watching on from the sidelines, his team lose 24 percent of their games. If that trend continues in the months ahead, City are going to need favors from Arsenal and Liverpool to make it five Premier League titles in a row.
Within City’s squad, Kovacic seems the natural option to step into the fray, as he did impressively at the start of the season. Al-Nassr’s hopes of snaring the Croatian in January have doubtless taken a major hit. The Croatia international, however, is 30 and has suffered plenty of muscle issues in recent years. Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones, perhaps even Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva could take some of Rodri’s minutes too. None could do so quite as well as the man they’re replacing.
City have weathered injury storms before. Kevin De Bruyne featured in fewer than half of their Premier League games last season; Erling Haaland had his issues then too. Rodri, however, has been a constant, giving them 4,000 or so minutes of elite production at perhaps the most important position in their side. Guardiola is the best coach in his generation because he sees solutions no one else can to the biggest problems in his team. For this one, however, there might be nothing he can do.
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