Rodri is expected to miss the rest of Manchester City’s season with an ACL injury he suffered against Arsenal, talkSPORT understands.
The midfielder was substituted in the 21st minute of the 2-2 draw on Sunday after planting his foot in an awkward position on the pitch.
He was able to stand up and hobble off but the Spaniard is said to have torn his cruciate ligament as per initial tests.
It means it’s very likely that this will spell the end of his season in what is a huge blow to City after initial optimism he wouldn’t be out for a lengthy period.
The extent of the injury is yet to be confirmed by City, although Rodri was filmed on Monday leaving a Barcelona hospital for assessment on his knee.
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This will be a massive blow for City, who are bidding for an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title.
Speaking after the match, City boss Pep Guardiola revealed he didn’t know how bad the 28-year-old’s problem was.
Guardiola said: “I don’t know yet, I didn’t ask the doctors. Rodri is strong. He leaves the pitch in this action because he felt something, otherwise Rodri stays there.
“He’s the best holding midfielder in the world, he is a potential Ballon d’Or winner, I would love for him to win.
“But it happened in the first minutes. These games with Arsenal are like that and we have to handle it. We did it. We did really good things.”
Rodri’s injury comes days after he hinted that football players are close to potentially striking due to the heavy demands of the sport’s calendar.
He claimed that the optimal number of games players should compete in should be between 40 and 50, rather than the 60 to 70 that City could have this season at least.
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“If people want to see better football then we need to rest,” he said last week.
Rodri has been fundamental to City’s success in recent seasons, in particular their treble winning campaign in 2022/23.
He scored the winning goal in the Champions League final against Inter Milan and produced consistent and dominant midfield displays.
City didn’t lose a single Premier League match that he played in last season, with all of their three defeats coming without him.
Guardiola will be able to call upon other midfielders including Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Matheus Nunes as cover.
However, given Rodri’s importance in the middle of the pitch, fans may fear a dip in success whilst the Euro 2024 winner is out.
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