September 26 – Manchester City ‘s Spanish international midfielder Rodri, regarded by many as the best player in the world in his position, has suffered ligament damage in his right knee and will be out for a lengthy period, the club have confirmed.
Rodri has been in Spain this week consulting specialists after limping off midway through the first half of the Premier League game against Arsenal last Sunday.
“Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis,” said a City statement.
Although there is no timescale on his recovery, City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed Rodri would be out “for a long time”. Reports earlier this week said the influential 28-year-old Spain international could miss the rest of the season.
Rodri’s loss will be a huge blow to City’s hopes of winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title and ambitions of reclaiming the Champions League crown.
The 28-year-old defensive midfielder was named player of the tournament at Euro 2024 as Spain emerged triumphant. He has lost just one match for club or country in 18 months – the FA Cup final to Manchester United.
City’s Premier League win rate with their midfield lynchpin in the team is 74.1% but without him it drops to 61.9%.
Guardiola said he had the responsibility to find a way of coping without Rodri, who joined City in 2019.
“Rodri is irreplaceable,” he said. “When a team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time of course it is a big blow but my duty is to find a solution so that we remain competitive as we have been for many years.”
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