Manchester City finally confirm Rodri injury status - how long midfielder could be out for

Manchester City have confirmed Rodri suffered a knee ligament injury on Sunday, although the length of his absence has not yet been confirmed.

The midfielder dropped to the ground after an innocuous collision with Thomas Partey in the early stages of the 2-2 draw against Arsenal. Rodri was in obvious discomfort and spent several minutes writhing on the ground before walking off the pitch. He did not attempt to play on and was replaced by Mateo Kovacic.

Reports subsequently emerged on Monday that Rodri had sustained a serious anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and could miss the rest of the season.

Speaking after City’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Watford on Tuesday night, Guardiola said there was no confirmation but added the player is set to undergo surgery and will face a prolonged period on the sidelines.

“Still we don’t have the definitive, but he will be out for a long time, a while, but maybe it will be less than we expected,” he said.

“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. I cannot tell you because we are waiting on the phone calls from him and the doctors to know exactly what he has and the type of surgery he has to get.”

But City confirmed via a statement on Wednesday that Rodri has suffered a significant knee injury.

“Manchester City FC can confirm that Rodri has suffered a ligament injury to his right knee,” the club said.

“The midfielder travelled to Spain to seek specialist consultation this week, following initial tests in Manchester. Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis.”

The injury is a hammer blow for City, with the team’s record vastly superior when Rodri plays. The Spaniard missed just four Premier League matches last season, with City losing three, the only games they were beaten in during the campaign.

City are also unbeaten in each of the last 52 league games that Rodri has started, a run that stretches back to February 2023.

The champions coped well in his absence earlier this term, when he missed the opening three games against Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United, all of which resulted in wins. But the prospect of playing almost an entire season without the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee poses a major issue.

Rodri’s phased return to the new campaign was caused after he sustained a hamstring injury in the final of Euro 2024, and Pep Guardiola faced questions about the lack of available cover for the former Atletico Madrid and Villarreal man over the summer, prior to the signing of Ilkay Gundogan.

The news also comes just a week after City’s no.16 said he would be willing to strike over the number of games top-level players are expected to participate in and the impact it’s having on their bodies.

“Someone has to take care of us because we are the main characters of this, let’s say, sport, or business, whatever you want to call it,” Rodri said ahead of the Champions League clash against Inter Milan.

“Not everything is about money or marketing. It is about the quality of the show. In my opinion, when I am not tired I perform better. If people want to see better football then we need to rest.”

Rodri also said he ‘needed a rest’ in between last season’s two Champions League games against Real Madrid in April, and he was allowed to sit out the encounter against Luton Town, the only league match City won without their talisman in 2023/24.

Now, picking up three points regularly in Rodri’s absence will be a must this campaign if City are to win another Premier League title.

There’s also a chance the injury could keep him for the start of next season. Tyrone Mings suffered an ACL injury in the opening weekend of the 2023/24 term and has still not returned, although Virgil van Dijk was out for around nine months with a similar injury that he sustained in October 2020.