Manchester City’s most valuable player, Rodri, was not able to help them win an unprecedented sixth-straight Premier League title.
One of the front-runners for the Ballon d’Or, the midfielder, apparently sustained a significant knee injury in Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal, raising questions over whether he will be able to play again this season.
Rodri was seen coming to Barcelona on Monday; although City has not officially confirmed the extent of his injury, there are rumors that he is receiving additional testing.
Despite all the discussion and analysis around the key moments in Sunday’s championship match, Rodri’s injury might end up having the most effect on the campaign.
During the second part of Pep Guardiola’s tenure, Rodri has been the most important player for City. During this time, the team has won ten major trophies, including a treble and four straight league titles.
Since February 2023, City has not lost a Premier League match that Rodri has started. Of the 11 games he has missed, four have ended in a loss.
With Arsenal, the runners-up the past two seasons, breathing down their necks, these little margins might decide the title fight.
Without him on the field, the outcome of the game on Sunday might have been different. After his removal, City played well at first but struggled in the second half with one man injured for Arsenal. They didn’t look exactly like themselves. There was an omission.
A run of three games around this time last year serves as the ideal example of the issues City could face. Following their Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle, City lost in the league to Wolves and Arsenal before Rodri was suspended for a straight red card.
Since Rodri’s 2019 transfer from Atletico Madrid, City has never had to deal with him being absent for an extended period. Playing more club games than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues throughout that time (260), he has been virtually constant.
In world football, it’s difficult to find a player who has performed with such consistency. The fact that City has increased their dominance to unprecedented levels since he signed is no accident.
Based on this limited sample size going back to last season, a city without Rodri wins 63% of its games, as opposed to 76% when he is there from the beginning.
This is a decline, but it might be explained by the City’s natural dependence on Rodri. He’s always there, so they’ve never really needed to think about a backup plan.
Guardiola will have to find a solution quickly if the City is unable to use him for an extended length of time. It would be improbable that he would not discover one.
He has a lot of choices at his disposal. Since Mateo Kovacic has been the starting stand-in so far this season, he is the most obvious understudy. He replaced Rodri in the Arsenal match.
But Guardiola is accustomed to throwing curveballs, so it’s feasible that he’ll adjust his team’s formation to compensate for the potential loss of their holding midfielder. In hybrid positions, we’ve seen Rico Lewis and John Stones move up into midfield.
Only one week has passed since Rodri issued a warning about a possible player strike over the demanding and constantly expanding football schedule. He stated that the demands are getting to be too great.
“I think we are close to [a strike]. I think if you ask any player, he will say the same. It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it’s the general opinion of the players.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.”
According to FIFPRO’s calculations, Rodri only had 22 days off throughout the 2023–2024 season. City advanced to the FA Cup final, lost the Champions League quarterfinals, and fought for the championship until the very end. Spain also had a great tournament at the Europeans.
Rodri made his league debut against Arsenal on Sunday, as City managed his workload following a very demanding campaign. Maybe the final one for a long time.
It remains to be seen how City manages. It may rank among their greatest achievements if they can overcome this possible setback and win five straight.
