“And we won the Premier League” – Pep Guardiola names two examples to indicate why Rodri’s injury will not derail Man City’s season

Manchester City have dealt with similar situations to the one they now face around defensive midfield star Rodri, and went on to win the Premier League.

That is the point made by manager Pep Guardiola on Tuesday night, after Manchester City succumbed to the prospect of losing their mainstay midfielder for the remainder of the ongoing 2024/25 season.

The club confirmed in an official statement on Wednesday morning that Rodri had suffered a ligament injury to his right knee during the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League.

Manchester City went on to state, “The midfielder travelled to Spain to seek specialist consultation this week, following initial tests in Manchester. Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis.”

But despite the concerns amongst Manchester City supporters over the prospect of competing for major honours without their most integral midfield player from the last three seasons, the Etihad Stadium manager holds a different view.

Speaking after the 2-1 win over Watford to reach the Carabao Cup fourth round, Pep Guardiola has stressed that his side have dealt with similar situations to the one that looms over them concerning Rodri, and on such occasions still went on to claim the Premier League crown.

Having confirmed his belief that Rodri is ‘irreplaceable’ in the Manchester City squad, Pep Guardiola continued, “We will find a solution. We have alternatives and we’ll do it. When one player is irreplaceable, we have to do it as a team, and this is going to happen.

“We had last season, three months without Erling [Haaland], five months without Kevin [De Bruyne], and we were there and we won the Premier League, despite many things.”

The Norway international striker was absent from Manchester City’s operation with a foot problem during the winter months of the last campaign, returning for the business end of the season to deliver another Premier League title.

As for De Bruyne, the midfielder took the decision following advice from medical experts to undergo surgery on his hamstring after one game in the 2023/24 season, after suffering a reoccurrence of the same problem that hampered his Champions League final against Inter.

Both players are now largely back to full fitness, despite the Belgian approaching the end of recovery from a minor groin problem, and are likely to feature heavily for Manchester City in the coming weeks and months.