How Will Manchester City Compensate For The Absence Of Rodri?

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Rodri of Manchester City talks to Josep Guardiola, Manager of ... [+] Manchester City, after leaving the pitch due to an injury during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

John Stones scored a stoppage time equaliser to salvage a point for Manchester City against Arsenal, but the damage had already been done to the defending Premier League champions earlier in the match when Rodri went down with an injury. The Spaniard is now expected to miss the rest of the season.

City has one of the deepest squads in European soccer, but there isn’t another player like Rodri in the Etihad Stadium dressing room. He is the best number six in the sport at this moment in time and so Manchester City will have trouble replacing one of their most important players. His injury could be a pivotal moment in City’s campaign.

“He's the best holding midfielder in the world, he is a potential Ballon d'Or winner, I would love for him to win,” said Pep Guardiola after the draw against Arsenal which was marred, from a Manchester City perspective, by the injury suffered by Rodri in the first half which saw him withdrawn.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Carlos Augusto of FC Internazionale Milano is challenged by ... [+] Rodri of Manchester City for the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and FC Internazionale Milano at Etihad Stadium on September 18, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Guardiola will have no choice but to reshuffle his team in order to keep Manchester City moving forward. Mateo Kovacic might be the best suited to filling the void left by Rodri, but the Croatian doesn’t have the defensive instincts of his Spanish teammate, nor does he have the same level of mobility.

Matheus Nunes is another midfielder who could feasibly provide an option in the centre of the pitch, but similar to Kovacic the Portuguese national team isn’t a strong enough defensive presence to protect the back four and give Manchester City the structure Rodri has provided over the last few seasons.

Of course, Rodri missed a number of matches to start the season after missing pre-season due to playing at Euro 2024. To compensate for the Spaniard’s absence, Guardiola used Kovacic and Rico Lewis as a midfield pairing and it seems likely he will return to that now that Rodri is on the sidelines through injury.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri of Manchester City pose with the Premier ... [+] League trophy after the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Kevin de Bruyne is another key figure who is expected to miss a number of matches through injury with the Belgian absent from Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal. De Bruyne is a very different sort of midfielder to Rodri, but his injury is another thing that could destabilise the defending Premier League champions.

Every team will have injury problems over the course of a season. Arsenal, for instance, is currently dealing with the absence of Martin Odegaard. The best teams, however, find solutions to these problems. Manchester City, however, might struggle to find a solution to the specific problem created by Rodri’s injury.