New Delhi: Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri had to be taken off the field during their clash with Arsenal over the weekend after he was seen withering in pain following a clash with Arsenal’s Thomas Partey. The Gunners were gearing up for a corner when Partey seemingly brushed Rodri’s knee resulting in the Manchester City midfielder leaving the field in tears.
While it wasn’t known how serious the injury was at the time, Rodri’s reaction after getting injured was enough for everyone to know that it’s a serious blow. More than 24 hours on from the incident, reports claim that the midfielder could be out for the remainder of the season as he suffered an ACL injury but there hasn’t been official word on that, neither from Manchester City nor from the player’s side.
The initial tests in Spain revealed that this could be a long term absence for the midfielder but he is yet to have some further tests which will explain the full extent of his injury. Rodri has been Manchester City’s unsung hero ever since he joined the club who is finally being given his flowers off-late. He’s amongst the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or and hasn’t lost a Premier League game in his last 52 outings. The club lost four of the five matches he didn’t feature in last season, so how can Manchester City cope without their star midfielder?
Will Rodri’s injury hand the title to Arsenal?
The Spaniard has been described by Kevin De Bruyne as a perfect fit for this Manchester City squad and it shows whenever the player doesn’t take the field. In his entire Manchester City career, the Spanish destroyer has only missed a mere 45 matches for the Cityzens and the champions have lost 24% of those games, which is way higher than the 11% games they’ve lost with Rodri in team.
The stark difference in win percentage in these scenarios of course have an effect on the points earned in this time. Pep Guardiola’s side average 2.36 points per game with Rodri and they average 2.04 points per game without him. The drop in points earned when Rodri isn’t playing will surely hurt the club’s chances for a fifth consecutive title. However, they started the season without him and only welcomed him into the starting lineup in the Arsenal game. The club had a 100% win record till this weekend, which might be a signal towards City adapting well to Rodri’s absence.
Why is Rodri integral to Manchester City?
Rodri, season 2023/24:
👕 56 games
⚽️ 10 goals
🅰️ 14 assists
🏆 Premier League Winner
🏆 Super Cup Winner
🏆 Euro 2024 Winner
🏆 Club World Cup Winner
👟 Premier League most accurate passes per game
👟 Premier League most long balls per game
👟 Champions League most accurate… https://t.co/xEFIvOkQ5o pic.twitter.com/674vAVb768
— B. (@InvertTheWing) July 23, 2024
Rodri is everything one would want from a defensive midfielder. He is a complete midfield destroyer who is extremely effective in winning the ball back and has excellent distribution skills. To top it all off, he has a bit of attacking flair to him as well and can chip in with goals whenever needed. He has often scored vital goals in crucial matches, like the winner in the UEFA Champions League final in 2023, which makes him an extremely clutch player.
Ever since arriving in Manchester, only Arsenal’s Declan Rice has won possession more times than Rodri which justifies his destroyer tag and no player has completed more passes than him since 2019. During the club’s last title winning season, Rodri had eight goals and nine assists as a defensive midfielder which showcased his quality attacking output for his side, something that is not his main job to do.
His distribution last season was excellent as well as he completed the most passes in the league, completing 3359 out of his 3633 passes, maintaining a 92% passing accuracy while he also completed 80% of his long balls. He was also involved in creating chances for his side, making 49 of those. His defensive work was excellent as well as he made 26 intercepting, won over 60% of his tackles and over 70% of his aerial duels. His 235 recoveries last season were amongst the best in the league last year and he won possession 33 times in the final third.
How can Manchester City replace him?
Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City (L) speaks to Rico Lewis of Manchester City during the Premier League match against Ipswich Town FC at Etihad Stadium on August 24, 2024. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
There is no doubting the fact that Rodri is the best defensive midfielder in the league, and is arguably the best in the world as well. Replacing such a player is not a task for one single player until and unless Guardiola has a clone of Rodri that he isn’t telling the world about. Pep used to field the Spaniard as his lone defensive midfielder without any hesitation but the lack of a natural alternative to him at the club poses a peculiar problem for Pep.
The obvious choice to replace Rodri is Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovačić but he can’t play as the lone guy in that position and would need a partner with him. Pep is already a fan of Rico Lewis inverting into the midfield from right-back so he could partner Kovačić but he faces stiff competition from both Kyle Walker and Joško Gvardiol on both flanks. Lewis hasn’t played a lot of games starting as a defensive midfielder so it remains a doubt if he will start as one alongside Kovačić.
John Stones has sometimes taken the responsibility of stepping into the midfield but it’s unlikely that Pep will want to alter his backline a lot. Nathan Ake is one of his defenders that he can use alongside Kovačić. Ake has only seen two minutes of Premier League action this season and has played as a defensive midfielder earlier in his career. While predominantly a centre-back, Ake has played as a defensive midfielder during his time at Chelsea, both in the youth academy and in the first team while also playing some games for Bournemouth in that position.
Lastly, we can also see a midfield pivot of Kovačić and the returning İlkay Gündoğan. The former German captain has spent a lot of his career playing alongside the defensive midfielder before moving further up the field in recent years. Even for Barcelona last season, he played a few games from defensive midfield. While the club doesn’t have a natural replacement for Rodri at their disposal, expect Pep Guardiola to come up with some plan to keep his machinery running smoothly.
The midfielder suffered a serious injury in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad on Sunday. While no timeline has been set for his return, Rodri can potentially miss the entirety of the remaining season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
