Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirms that midfielder Rodri will miss the remainder of the season due to injury.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season after undergoing ACL surgery on Friday.
The Spanish international also suffered damage to his meniscus. Rodri injured his right knee on Sunday in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
“This season is over (for him). “We got the worst (possible news), but it is what it is,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “We are there to support you in a good recovery, step by step and move forward.”
An ACL injury can take six months to a year to heal. That could be a blow to City's chances of winning a record fifth consecutive Premier League.
“We don't have a similar player, but the other players together can replace what Rodri has given since he came to us,” Guardiola said. “We have to do it as a team and we have to find a way to play for many months without an important player for us.”
Rodri will leave a big hole at Manchester City
Rodri's importance to City was underlined last season when the team lost four of nine games without him. In comparison, City lost only one of the 50 games they had with him in the team. He also helped Spain win the European Championship this summer and is among the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world.
While he will be out for the rest of the campaign, Guardiola said it would probably take even longer for him to return to his best form. “You have to be careful because when you have an ACL injury, in nine months, the following year, you have problems, muscular problems for sure. That's why it's longer. I think Rodri will not return to his best level for eight or nine months,” Guardiola said.
Rodri's injury came after he warned last week that top players could go on strike due to the number of games they are being asked to play as new competitions are introduced into an already packed football calendar and added matches to existing tournaments.
The Champions League has been expanded so there are two more games in the new group stage. Next year's Club World Cup will for the first time be an event in which 32 teams will participate, instead of seven. It is scheduled for the offseason of many major leagues in June and July. The renewed Club World Cup has caused a legal challenge of the players' unions.
On Tuesday, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said the risk of further injuries to top players was “almost inevitable” due to increased demands. City play Newcastle on Saturday and will be without Kevin De Bruyne, who is yet to recover from an apparent strain he suffered against Inter Milan last week.
