Rodri injury: What we know about Man City star’s return plus Pep Guardiola’s reaction

Manchester Metropolis are nonetheless sweating on the health of Rodri amid fears that the influential midfielder can be dominated out for the remainder of the season.

The European champion with Spain and Ballon d’Or contender limped off their 2-2 draw in opposition to Arsenal on Sunday and was changed within the twentieth minute of the competition on the Etihad after hurting his proper knee.

Rodri was pivotal as Metropolis received a fourth consecutive Premier League title final marketing campaign and, for membership and nation, has only one defeat within the final 18 months.

The 28-year-old has undergone scans to find out the extent of the issue and Manchester Metropolis are nonetheless awaiting affirmation on how lengthy Rodri can be out for, amid conflicting experiences on whether or not the Spaniard has suffered a cruciate ligament harm.

What occurred?

Rodri got here off halfway by the primary half after showing to twist his proper knee whereas Manchester Metropolis attacked a nook. The midfielder was being marked by Arsenal’s Thomas Partey and fell to the bottom instantly because the pair jostled for place within the field.

Rodri fell to the bottom as his proper leg appeared to jar within the turf, and the Spaniard instantly reached for his knee as he rolled onto his again.

Rodri was additionally concerned in a collision with Kai Havertz inside seconds of kick-off. Rodri was left floored by the Arsenal attacker and went down holding his face as he seemed to dam off Havertz’s urgent run and the German worldwide seemingly barged into him.

How lengthy may Rodri be sidelined for?

It depends upon the character of the harm, which is at present unknown. Manchester Metropolis are nonetheless ready for affirmation of how lengthy Rodri can be out for, with mananger Pep Guardiola anticipating the midfielder can be sidelined for a very long time.

However Guardiola raised hopes that Rodri won’t be out for the season, the Metropolis supervisor stated there are conflicting views on the severity of his knee drawback with a ultimate verdict anticipated on Wednesday.

The worst-case state of affairs could be an harm to a knee ligament, reminiscent of his cruciate, and which may rule the midfielder out of motion for a big a part of the season. If the prognosis is an harm to his ACL or comparable, Metropolis could be braced for Rodri being dominated out for months, slightly than weeks.

Reviews from Spain on Monday, together with by Marca and ESPN, point out that Rodri could possibly be dominated out for the remainder of the season after preliminary exams confirmed an ACL harm – however that was earlier than he was had additional evaluation. The Occasions additionally reported that Rodri “may miss the rest of the season” after the primary set of scan outcomes.

Rodri missed the beginning of the Premier League season with a hamstring harm, which adopted a busy season and his involvement with Spain at Euro 2024.

What did Pep Guardiola say?

After Manchester Metropolis’s win over Watford within the EFL Cup on Tuesday night time, Guardiola stated: “Nonetheless we don’t have the definitive [verdict].

“He can be out for a very long time, some time, however there’s some opinions that can be lower than we count on. Proper now nonetheless I can not let you know.

“We’re ready on the final cellphone requires him and the physician on what positively he has and the surgical procedure he wants. We’ll discover out tomorrow.”

The Metropolis supervisor described Rodri’s temper as “sturdy, unhappy and ready the ultimate determination”.

“Rodri is irreplaceable and the staff received’t play with one of the best midfielder on the planet for an extended, very long time,” Guardiola continued.

“After all it’s an enormous, large blow for us however I’ve an obligation to discover a resolution. However it’s soccer, it occurs. When one participant is irreplaceable we discover options as a staff.

“Final season, we have been three months with out Erling [Haaland], 5 months with out Kevin [de Bruyne] and we discovered options.”

What video games do Metropolis have developing?

Metropolis, who lead Arsenal by two factors after Sunday’s enthralling draw, journey to Newcastle on Saturday and Rodri is prone to be out till the New Yr in any case, lacking key league fixtures in opposition to Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa in December.

On paper, the go to to St James’ Park – the place Metropolis have received 3-2 and drawn 3-3 within the final two seasons within the Premier League – is their hardest fixture till they journey to Brighton and host Tottenham both facet of the November Worldwide break.

Rodri’s absence could even stretch into one other key run from late January by to the top of February, the place the champions face Chesea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Tottenham in successive Premier League fixtures.

How necessary is Rodri?

Very. Since Spain have been crushed 2-0 by Scotland in March 2023, the midfielder has misplaced only one match for membership and nation – and that was the FA Cup ultimate defeat to Manchester United on the finish of final season.

Metropolis’s defeats at Wolves, Arsenal and Aston Villa within the Premier League final season all got here when Rodri was unavailable attributable to both harm or suspension, and so they have been unbeaten within the Premier League when he was within the staff.

Rodri additionally began all seven of Spain’s matches as La Roja received Euro 2024 – with the midfielder profitable the participant of the event award. He’s thought-about a robust contender for this 12 months’s Ballon d’Or, together with Actual Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr.

“He’s one of the best holding midfielder on the planet,” Guardiola stated. “He’s a possible Ballon d’Or winner. I’d love for him to win.”