After suffering a hamstring injury in the EURO 2024 final, Rodri has only just returned to action for Man City in the draw with Arsenal. However, the Spanish star has been plagued by bad luck as he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The Etihad Stadium team fear that this injury will keep the Spanish midfielder out until June 2025.
With Rodri’s injury, questions have been raised about whether this is a consequence of the players playing so much. In fact, just last week, the 28-year-old midfielder spoke out about the pressure on players’ bodies and even revealed that they were considering a strike due to playing so many games.
Pep Guardiola has become accustomed to Rodri in his squad and the Spaniard is facing perhaps his biggest problem in recent years. The Man City coaching staff consider this a serious loss and could affect the performance of the whole season.
Previously, the Man City captain confidently declared that his team would still win even without Rodri in the squad. The Citizens have a series of 4 consecutive wins in the Premier League and dispelled doubts that they are relying too much on Rodri's talent.
In fact, the concerns for Man City in the pre-season were completely justified when they lost 3 and won only 1 of the games without the Spanish star last season. Notably, the only victory was against Luton Town - the team at the bottom of the rankings. Now, perhaps Pep Guardiola will no longer have the same confidence as before and will be forced to find a way to solve the problem.
Rodri has missed the first few weeks of the season and Man City have had to play without him. Pep Guardiola's side have not faced strong opponents in this period. The problem was clearly exposed against Arsenal when Man City struggled after Rodri left the pitch.
Being without Rodri for a few games is one thing, but missing him for the majority of the season is a completely different challenge for the Citizens. Many believe that Man City should have looked for a back-up option for the Spanish midfielder in the summer transfer window. The Manchester club had their eye on Bruno Guimaraes but refused to pay Newcastle's asking price. They did not feel pressured to find a replacement for Rodri at the time.
Now, it is difficult to find a perfect replacement for the 28-year-old midfielder. Mateo Kovacic has had relatively good performances but has also made mistakes in dangerous situations. Compared to Rodri's standards, those mistakes are hardly acceptable.
Man City have been constantly rebuilding their squad over the years. Pep Guardiola always knows how to turn things around and find solutions whenever the team is in trouble. Without Rodri, the Etihad team will have to adapt once again. This will be a bigger test than ever for Pep Guardiola's problem-solving ability.
