Man City is worried that Rodri might hurt his knee and have to miss the rest of the season.
The Spain midfielder went to Barcelona last night for more tests with Dr. Ramon Cugat, who is Pep Guardiola’s favorite doctor.
But news reports in his home country say it looks like the 28-year-old tore a knee ligament in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
If the worst news comes true, the Ballon d’Or candidate probably won’t play again for months. This would be a big setback for Guardiola’s defending Premier League champions.
Rodri looked upset after getting into a fight with Thomas Partey, an Arsenal player, in the middle of the first half.
He was treated for a long time on the pitch before Mateo Kovacic took his place at the Etihad.
However, Rodri’s decision to leave the game gave people hope that it might not be as bad as they first thought.
But the first scans yesterday were not good, and City is now waiting for Cugat to say what he thinks.
In a strange twist, Rodri talked last week about the chance of players going on strike because they are being asked to play more games than usual.
He hurt his leg in July and had to leave Spain’s Euro 2024 final win over England at halftime. He missed the start of the Premier League season because of it.
The star played for Atletico Madrid and has been a big part of City’s recent success. He has become their own “Invincible.”
With that key player in the middle of the field, they haven’t lost a Premier League game since February 2023.
Because of how well he has played for both his club and his country, he is second only to Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid as the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or next month.
In Rodri’s place, Ilkay Gundogan, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, or John Stones could play and hold the ball.
Rico Lewis (19) and Nico O’Reilly (19) have also spent time learning the job, which is very important to City’s manager Pep Guardiola.
However, City may have to make a move in January since they host Watford on Tuesday night in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
They thought about getting Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle in the summer, but the £100 million price tag stopped them.
