Rodri’s recovery from an ACL injury has not yet been given a timetable by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, although he may rejoin the team sooner than expected.
Rodri suffered the injury in the first few minutes of Sunday’s 2-2 tie with Arsenal, and many sources in the past few days have stated that his season is finished.
City has subsequently verified Rodri’s ACL damage, however, they have not stated when he will return.
However, Guardiola asserted that there is still hope for a quick recovery following City’s 2-1 victory over Watford at home on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup.
“Although the exact diagnosis is still pending, he will be out for some time. However, some believe it may be less than we anticipated “Guardiola stated before City made their announcement.
Sadly, he was hurt, but I was unable to tell you at the time. We’re waiting on his last calls from the doctors to find out what exactly he has and what kind of operation he needs.
“He’s alright. He is strong, depressed, of course, and awaiting the outcome of his mandatory actions. Even though we don’t want it, the season will be enjoyable for us.”
“Even though Rodri is irreplaceable, I have to find a solution. I expect a lot from my players,” Guardiola continued. It is devastating for a team to play without the world’s best midfield player for an extended time.
“But football is involved. It takes place. And it is my responsibility to come up with a solution, maintain our level of competition—which we have had for a very long time—and to be a hindrance to our rivals.
Indeed, he cannot be replaced. But I’ll figure something out. We shall take the alternate route. We have to work together as a team to find a solution when one player is essential. We had Erling [Haaland] gone for three months and Kevin (De Bruyne) gone for five months last season, but we managed to find answers.”
