Pep Guardiola was all the time dealing with an uphill battle at Manchester Metropolis this season, however the grim information of Rodri struggling an ACL harm that’s prone to rule the midfielder out till subsequent season has now given Guardiola and his crew a mountain to climb.
Sources have advised ESPN that defensive midfielder Rodri will bear surgical procedure after tearing the ACL in his proper knee following a seemingly innocuous collision with Arsenal’s Thomas Partey within the twentieth minute of Sunday’s 2-2 draw in opposition to the Gunners on the Etihad.
Rodri’s pained response, the prolonged remedy he underwent on the pitch and his gesture to Guardiola as he left the pitch, signalling along with his arms that it was “over,” hinted on the unhealthy information to return. Guardiola’s post-match admission — “[Rodri] is powerful. He leaves the pitch and his motion is he felt one thing in any other case he would keep there” — underlined the truth that the participant wouldn’t have deserted his try to play on until it was a major problem.
The unhealthy information got here following scans in Spain on Monday, and the result is a hammer blow for Metropolis. Solely the lack of striker Erling Haaland may very well be considered an even bigger drawback for Guardiola to cope with, however solely by a fraction.
Earlier this 12 months, Guardiola made clear simply how a lot his all-conquering crew depends on the 28-year-old former Atletico Madrid participant. “He is an unbelievable participant,” Guardiola mentioned in February. “He is the most effective midfield participant on this planet by far. It is as a result of he is capable of do the whole lot.
“It is the tempo he has, particularly his character when the state of affairs goes fallacious, he steps ahead to reach to the field, go backwards, the flexibility to play quick and lengthy. He is all the time prepared.
“What a signing. Manchester Metropolis signed a participant that’s obscure what we now have accomplished lately with out him. It will’ve been troublesome.”
Rodri is irreplaceable — his document in a Metropolis shirt tells us that — and his absence is one other main headache for Guardiola. Metropolis have misplaced only one recreation in 2024 with Rodri within the crew — the FA Cup ultimate defeat in opposition to Manchester United at Wembley final season — and their league run is much more spectacular with him within the facet.
Within the 21 Premier League video games that Rodri has missed since arriving from Atletico in the summertime of 2019, Metropolis have misplaced seven of them — 33% of the video games performed with out Rodri. General, he has misplaced 19 instances in 174 Premier League video games: an 11% defeat ratio.
Rodri is the world’s greatest at a troublesome place. Per ESPN’s Stats & Data Group, the Spain midfielder led the Premier League final season in touches (4,124), accomplished passes (3,359), progressive passes (521), carries (2,629), carry distance (11,662 meters/12,754 yards). He was additionally second in recoveries (primarily, “possession gained”) with 235 (two behind Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes). He additionally led Man Metropolis in deal with makes an attempt (70), profitable tackles (43), profitable duels (174) and aerial duels gained (55).
Sunday was additionally the 52nd consecutive recreation that Rodri had began for Metropolis and never been on the shedding facet within the Premier League, a run relationship again to a loss at Tottenham in February 2023. However when he missed two league video games on account of suspension final season, Metropolis misplaced them each — at Newcastle and at Wolves.
Had it not been for a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser from John Stones in opposition to Arsenal on Sunday, Metropolis would have misplaced with out Rodri once more. With Metropolis visiting Newcastle once more this weekend of their first full recreation with out the Spain midfielder, the chance of struggling one other defeat with a Rodri-sized gap within the crew is an actual one.
1:18
Why Laurens discovered Arsenal vs. Man Metropolis so fascinating
Julien Laurens reacts to Pep Guardiola’s “doubt” throughout Manchester Metropolis’s 2-2 draw in opposition to Arsenal and the way it made the sport so fascinating.
Guardiola’s drawback is that he has no person of the identical calibre to step in. Mateo Kovacic, the previous Chelsea and Actual Madrid midfielder, is the almost certainly candidate, however he doesn’t management video games like Rodri. Matheus Nunes can also be handed video games, however the £53 million signing from Wolves final 12 months has accomplished little of word in a Metropolis shirt; he would have left the membership this summer time however for the choice to mortgage Kalvin Phillips to Ipswich City.
Phillips might have been a helpful possibility had he nonetheless been on the membership, however the former Leeds and England participant has solely ever been a peripheral determine below Guardiola, so wouldn’t have been seen as an actual resolution.
John Stones, who was moved from his normal centre-back function to play a holding midfield place within the ultimate phases of Metropolis’s treble-winning marketing campaign in 2022-23, is probably the almost certainly alternative, taking part in alongside Kovacic. However Stones made successful of the midfield function as a result of he was taking part in alongside Rodri, nearly in a grasp and apprentice model relationship. With out Rodri’s expertise, imaginative and prescient and talent to snuff out hazard earlier than it arises, the query Guardiola should reply is whether or not Stones will be simply as efficient taking part in with Kovacic somewhat than Rodri.
The following possibility is to attend till the switch market reopens in January. Metropolis, having made a web revenue of £99 million through the summer time switch window, could have loads of funds with which to signal a world-class alternative, however by that stage, the membership’s destiny of their Premier League listening to will both be identified or imminent.
Final Monday, the impartial listening to started into Man Metropolis’s alleged 115 breaches of Premier League monetary regulation — a quantity that since elevated to 130 following a correction by the Premier League of the initially reported complete — which might end result within the membership being hit by an enormous wonderful and factors deduction. If it goes in opposition to Metropolis, discovering a participant to make the transfer to the Etihad amid uncertainty over the membership’s future will probably be a tricky problem and by then, who is aware of how damaging Rodri’s loss will have already got been within the race for the title.
Arsenal and Liverpool, the groups almost certainly to dethrone Metropolis as Premier League champions, will intention to revenue from Rodri’s absence and check Metropolis’s capacity to win with out him.
He’s unquestionably a world-class participant, with solely Vinícius Júnior forward of him within the race to win this 12 months’s Ballon d’Or based on the betting odds. He already earned the excellence of being voted the Participant of the Event at Euro 2024 this summer time, so his credentials aren’t doubtful.
What’s doubtful, nonetheless, is Metropolis’s capacity to manage with out him in a season after they have so many distractions to beat, on and off the pitch.
