Manchester City narrowly avoided their first defeat of the 2024/25 season on Sunday afternoon, needing a stoppage-time John Stones equaliser to deny Arsenal what would have been a famous victory at the Etihad Stadium.
The 2-2 draw is enough to keep Pep Guardiola’s men at the top of the Premier League table, but of more concern to the City chief will be seeing midfielder Rodri limp off with an apparent knee injury after just 21 minutes.
The Spanish midfielder - who recently warned against the dangers of footballers being overplayed - is a hugely influential member of Guardiola’s squad, with the 28-year-old achieving the longest unbeaten streak in European football history earlier this year, as he went 74 games without a loss before the FA Cup final.
Manchester City learn extent of Rodri injury
Following the 2-2 stalemate at the Etihad, Guardiola said the club would have to wait to learn the extent of Rodri's injury after seeing him go down clutching his knee after tussling with Thomas Partey at a corner.
Now, according to ESPN, City have received the news they were dreading, as they report that Rodri will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
This comes after tests this morning confirmed the damage, with the report adding that while further scans are due, all signs points towards an ACL injury and he will likely undergo surgery to repair the injury in Barcelona.
"Rodri is a strong man," Guardiola said following the match. "He left the pitch in this action because he felt something.
"Otherwise, Rodri stays there. Rodri is a vocal guy, has presence… He’s the best holding midfielder in the world, a potential Ballon d’Or winner, I would love it. He’s important. But it’s happened."
Mateo Kovacic replaced Rodri from the bench and Guardiola will now likely have to call upon the Croatian to replace Rodri in his starting line-up as City aim to win an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title.
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Guardiola was able to give a more positive update on Kevin De Bruyne following the Arsenal match, revealing his skipper could return next weekend.
"I don’t think it will be long," he said. "I won’t say Watford [on Tuesday], I don’t know for Newcastle but I think it will not be long."
In FourFourTwo's opinion, this is a hammer blow for Manchester City's hopes of retaining their Premier League title, given the Spaniard's importance in the team. There are few players in world football who dominate their position like Rodri does (with FourFourTwo rating Rodri as the best in his position in the world earlier this year), with Kovacic now having a lot of weight on his shoulders as the club look to compete on four fronts.
When could Rodri return?
There's obviously no timescale just yet for when Rodri could return, depending on the severity of the injury. The Spaniard could be looking at the rest of the Premier League campaign ruled out as a minimum, though.
One target could be the Club World Cup, though. The revamped competition is set to launch next summer, with City one of the star sides invited.
Manchester City are likely to reveal the diagnosis of the injury in time.
