Due to an ACL tear sustained in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with championship rivals Arsenal, Rodri will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
The 28-year-old City midfielder went down in pain during the first half of the match on Sunday, and scans have indicated that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. These claims are coming from Spain.
The news is devastating for City’s aspirations of winning the Premier League and the Champions League for a sixth consecutive year, as well as a crushing blow to one of Pep Guardiola’s most crucial players, Rodri.
Although Rodri will have surgery in Barcelona, his season as a midfield player for Spain and City is gone after just five Premier League games due to the approximate eight-month rehabilitation period following an ACL tear. At the Etihad Stadium, he jarred his right knee into the turf, collapsing to the ground. His gait as he hobbled off the pitch revealed he was aware that he had suffered a potentially catastrophic response.
After the match, when asked about Rodri’s injury, Guardiola replied, “Rodri is a strong man.” He must have felt something because he would have left the pitch and taken this action. If not, Rodri remains there. He is a very talkative man.
He’s the world’s best-holding midfielder with his presence, and he might win the Ballon d’Or. It would be so wonderful. However, his harm has already occurred.”
One of City’s most reliable and significant players, Rodri cost £62.8 million to join from Atletico Madrid in 2018.
Rodri missed five games last season, yet City won four of them, and the Ballon d’Or winner only lost once, against Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Rodri was instrumental in City’s historic fourth consecutive league title win last season and scored the game-winning goal in the team’s 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the 2023 Champions League final.
However, as ESPN first revealed, Guardiola will now have to play without Rodri, who was instrumental in Spain’s victory at Euro 2024 even though he was taken off the pitch at halftime of the final against England due to injury.
After his incredible performances for club and country, Rodri was named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 and is one of the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.