After suffering a hamstring injury in the EURO 2024 final, Rodri has only just returned to play for Man City in the draw against Arsenal. However, bad luck is still haunting the Spanish star as he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The Etihad outfit are concerned the Spaniard will be out until June 2025.
With Rodri's injury, many questions have been raised about whether this is the result of players having too much frequency of competition? In fact, just last week, the 28-year-old midfielder spoke out about the pressure on the players' bodies and even revealed that they were considering a strike due to having to play too many matches.
Pep Guardiola is very familiar with Rodri's presence in the squad and perhaps the Spaniard will have to face the 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 won four consecutive Premier League games 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 in the games without the Spanish star last season. Notably, that only win was against Luton Town - the team at the bottom of the rankings. Now, perhaps Pep Guardiola will no longer be as confident as before and will be forced to find a way to solve the problem.
Rodri has missed the first few weeks of this season and Man City have been forced to play without him. Pep Guardiola's army has not had to face strong opponents at this stage. The problem was clearly revealed in the match against Arsenal when Man City struggled after Rodri left the field.
Not having Rodri for a few games is one thing, but missing him for most of the season is a completely different challenge for The Citizens. Many people believe that Man City should have looked for a backup option for the Spanish midfielder in the summer transfer window. The Manchester club had eyes on Bruno Guimaraes but refused to pay the price Newcastle demanded. At that time, they did not feel pressured to find a replacement for Rodri.
It is now difficult to find a perfect replacement for the 28-year-old midfielder. Mateo Kovacic has had relatively good performances but has occasionally made mistakes in dangerous situations. Compared to Rodri's standards, those mistakes are hard to accept.
Man City has continuously renewed 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.
