Manchester City are waiting for final tests to confirm how long Rodri will be out due to a knee injury, with Pep Guardiola revealing there is some confusion among doctors over the extent of the injury. However, Guardiola has confirmed that the influential midfielder will require surgery and will be out for a “long time.” Rodri was injured early in City’s win over Arsenal on Sunday, twisting his knee as he prepared to attack a corner. Guardiola acknowledged that Rodri will be a huge miss for City but vowed to find a solution, just like they did when Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were sidelined last season.
Pep Guardiola said “Still we don’t have the definitive (diagnosis) but he will be out for a long time, a while. But there are some opinions that maybe it will be less than we expected. Unfortunately, he was injured, but right now I couldn’t tell you. We are waiting for the last phone calls from him and the doctors for what definitely he has and the type of surgery he has to get. He’s okay. He’s strong, sad of course, and waiting for the final decision of what he has to do. We don’t want it, but we will (still) have a good season.”
Guardiola views Rodri as irreplaceable and reiterated his belief that he is the best midfielder in the world, but he insisted he is ready to find a system that covers for Rodri’s absence, even if it takes more than one player:
Pep Guardiola said “I expect a lot from my players and I have a duty to find a solution – even if Rodri is irreplaceable. When a team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow. But it’s football. It happens. Yes, he’s irreplaceable. But I will find a solution. There is an alternative, we will do it. When you have one player who is irreplaceable, as a team we have to find a solution. Last season, we were three months without Erling, five months without Kevin and we found solutions.”
