Pep Guardiola’s injury nightmare could become reality as Man City player to miss game with ‘discomfort’

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is reportedly set to miss tonight’s (Thursday) international fixture between Spain and Cyprus due to injury.

The midfielder, who has scored four goals in 15 appearances for his club this season, won’t be involved in the Euro 2024 qualifier due to ‘discomfort’, and Spanish outlet COPE report that Martin Zubimendi will take his place in midfield at the Alphamega Stadium.

If Rodri does miss the Group A fixture, he would be the fifth City player to suffer an injury during the current international break. Nathan Ake’s knock, which forced him to sit out the trip to Chelsea last weekend, resulted in him pulling out of the Netherlands squad.

Ederson, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes also dropped out of the respective Brazil, Croatia and Spain camps this week due to injuries. They join John Stones, Sergio Gomez and Kevin De Bruyne on City’s mounting list of absentees, with the latter not expected to play again in 2024. 

With potentially up to eight players currently out through injury, it could leave Pep Guardiola’s squad stretched for the upcoming Premier League matches against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa after the break, with only 13 outfield players definitely fit at present.

The absence of Rodri and Stones could be particularly significant for City, with the European champions losing all three matches earlier this season when the pair were absent, with Rodri suspended and Stones injured.

Speaking after last week’s Champions League win over Young Boys, Guardiola admitted it would be a concern if the pair were to be missing at the same time. “The problem is we play John and Rodri at the same time - now we are in trouble, because we have to play a bit differently, like happened in Arsenal," explained the City boss. "We do not feel comfortable still, we are not prepared to change many variations."