City have been dealt a huge blow, with Rodri reportedly set to miss a significant period of the season due to tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. Pep Guardiola was forced to replace him with Mateo Kovacic midway through Sunday’s Premier League 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad. Rodri was clattered just seconds in by the shoulder of Kai Havertz, which kept him down for two minutes. He later went down as a corner came in after a challenge from Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey and was unable to continue. It was Rodri’s first start for City this season after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury.
Pep Guardiola said “I don’t know, I didn’t speak to the doctor. [But] Rodri is strong. He leaves the pitch in this action because he felt something, otherwise Rodri stays there. He’s the best holding midfielder in the world, he is a potential Ballon d’Or winner, I would love for him to win. He’s important but it’s happened. It happened in the first minutes and the other one. These games with Arsenal are like that and we have to handle it when we are not used. We did it. Many things we did really good things.”
