Pep Guardiola confident Manchester City can compete without Rodri; midfield maestro labeled 'irreplaceable'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed his determination to find a solution in the absence of key midfielder Rodri, who is facing a serious knee injury that may sideline him for the rest of the season. Guardiola acknowledged the responsibility he holds in managing the team through this challenging situation.

The Spaniard limped off during City’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the English Premier League on Sept 22 with a suspected anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee.

“Rodri will be out for a long time, a while. There are some opinions that it will be less than we expect, but unfortunately he was injured and right now we’re waiting for the final phone calls from him and the doctors to know exactly what he has and the type of surgery he has to get,” Guardiola said, after City’s 2-1 win over Watford in the League Cup on Sept 24.

Guardiola accepted the absence is a huge blow, but believes a City side that have won a record four consecutive Premier League titles can remain competitive.

“We will have a good season, I trust a lot in my players. I have the duty to find a solution,” he added.

“Rodri is irreplaceable. When a team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, of course, it is a big blow but my duty is to find a solution so that we remain competitive as we have been for many years.

“When one player is irreplaceable you have to do it as a team and this is going to happen.”

Rodri has been touted as a potential Ballon d’Or winner after his influential role in City’s record fourth consecutive Premier League title and Spain’s success at Euro 2024, where he was named player of the tournament.

The former Atletico Madrid player has lost just one of his last 84 games for club and country.

Overall, since arriving from La Liga in 2019, Rodri has played 174 Premier League games and has finished on the losing side only 19 times, with 129 wins.

In his absence on Sept 24, Matheus Nunes scored his first City goal in his 34th appearance as the hosts eased to a 2-1 victory over second-tier Watford to reach the League Cup fourth round.

Jeremy Doku slotted in City’s opener after five minutes and Nunes produced a clinical finish in the 38th minute to put Pep Guardiola’s side in control at The Etihad.

Watford have suffered some horrible Premier League maulings against City in recent seasons but they refused to capitulate and Tom Ince gave them an 86th-minute lifeline with a curler.

Eight-time winners City avoided being dragged in to a penalty shoot-out though, despite some late Watford pressure.

Watford manager Tom Cleverley, a former Manchester United youth product, told the BBC: “The No. 1 objective was to show some resilience. It has to be more difficult to break us down as a team...

“That was the key message and structurally we were disciplined, hardworking, and when we did get our structure broken, we put our bodies on the line, so big respect to the lads.”