Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear and meniscus damage, as confirmed by manager Pep Guardiola on Friday.
Guardiola addressed the initial confusion regarding Rodri’s injury, which was first reported by ESPN as season-ending but later indicated that further tests were necessary to clarify the prognosis. “He had surgery this morning, ACL and some meniscus, we think,” Guardiola informed reporters, including The Athletic’s Sam Lee. “Next season, he will be with us. This season is over. Unfortunately, we got the worst news, but that is what happened. We will be there to support him and move forward step by step.”
Rodri sustained the injury during the 20th minute of Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal, appearing to go down without contact. The 28-year-old was substituted for Mateo Kovacic, who is expected to see increased playing time in Rodri’s absence.
Guardiola mentioned that he has already discussed potential January signings with City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain. BBC Sport has pointed out Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong as potential targets for the upcoming midseason transfer window. Zubimendi had previously declined a summer move to Liverpool to remain at Real Sociedad.
“We will see,” Guardiola said. “We talked today with Txiki; we will see what’s going on. We don’t have to decide tomorrow, right? We have time to see the potential problems we will have, and after, we will see.”
Regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in the sport, Rodri played a crucial role in helping Manchester City secure their fourth consecutive Premier League title in May, and he was named the best player of Euro 2024 while leading Spain to victory. Last season, he scored the decisive goal in the 2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan and added another nine goals across all competitions.
Guardiola acknowledged after City’s 2-1 victory over Watford in the League Cup on Tuesday that Rodri is “irreplaceable.” He stated, “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.”
According to Agence France-Presse, City’s Premier League win rate without Rodri falls to 61.9% from 74.1% with him. Last season, the team lost three of the four Premier League matches played without him.
Prior to this injury, Rodri had never faced a significant ailment in his career, having missed only eight games due to injury since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, according to transfermarkt.com.
