Rodri could be 'out for the season' with ACL tear 

The Premier League champions' talisman left the field injured during the eventful draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

BIG BLOW: Manchester City's Rodri injured during the clash with title rivals Arsenal on Sunday. Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Rodri suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday and may miss the rest of the season as a result, handing the champions a serious blow in their bid to win a fifth successive Premier League crown.

The 28-year-old was forced off after 21 minutes at the Etihad Stadium having gone down under minimal contact following a challenge by Thomas Partey inside the Arsenal area but in clear agony. 

City await further tests in Madrid but fear the worst in regards to the availability of one of Pep Guardiola’s most important and influential players.

As the manager said of the midfielder – who he rates as the best No 6 in the world – in March: “He is irreplaceable right now.” 

Guardiola has struggled to find a deputy for Rodri. Kalvin Phillips was signed from Leeds in July 2022 to offer competition to the Spain international but was ultimately judged not to be of the requisite standard. The 28-year-old was loaned to West Ham for the second half of last season and is on loan to Ipswich Town for this campaign.

Mateo Kovacic, who replaced Rodri against Arsenal, is far more trusted by Guardiola, but the Croatian is a different player to City’s No 16, and, as such, would mean the Catalan having to adjust how he sets his team up in the long term.

Rodri was suspended for three games at the start of last season and City lost them all. Their only defeat in regulation time during the campaign with him in the side came against Manchester United in May’s FA Cup final.

Just a week ago, the midfielder warned about the increased workload on players, brought on my factors such as the expanded Champions League.

He said players are close to striking over the increased number of games, believing that 40-50 matches a season is the optimum amount.  

“I think we are close to that – it is easy to understand,” he said. “If you ask any player he will say the same; it is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. It’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option. It’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.” 

Rodri was asked the optimum amount of games in a season. 

“I don’t have an exact number,” he said. “From my experience I can tell you that 60-70 [is no good]. Between 40 and 50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level. After that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level.

“This year we can go to 70, maybe 80, I don’t know. It depends how far you go in the competitions. It is too much. We have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it.

“Not everything is money or marketing, it is also the quality of the show. When I am not tired I perform better and if the people want to see a better football, we need to rest.”

Guardian