The season may be new but it’s the same old story for Manchester City. Injuries have again taken a toll on the reigning Premier League champions with Rodri being the latest player to get sidelined. The star midfielder is set to be out with a tough ACL injury. But for how long and exactly how many matches will he miss for both City and Spain?

As per the reports from various sources, Rodri is ruled out for over an extended period of 9 months. The knock that the former Atletico Madrid man sustained turned out to be much graver than expected which sadly keeps him out of action for almost the 2024/25 season. It would be a miracle if he can return before the end of the season but now fans may see him back on the pitch next year.

This means that be it fighting for the Premier League race or contesting in the newly formatted Champions League, Rodri will miss it all for Manchester City. That’s not all as beyond other domestic competitions like the EFL Cup and FA Cup, the holding midfielder will also miss all the international window with Spain until the summer, which includes the UEFA Nations League.

Notably, Rodri was forced to leave the field just 21 minutes into the 2-2 draw against Arsenal. The injury transpired when he attempted to get ahead of Thomas Partey and move towards the near post, but his leg became stuck in the turf. The 28-year-old quickly went down clutching his leg in pain. Unable to continue, Pep Guardiola had no choice but to substitute the 2024 UEFA Euro winner and replace him with Mateo Kovacic.

During the post-match press conference, even Guardiola offered a rather vague response on Rodri’s injury update, failing to provide a clear update on the Spaniard’s condition. “I don’t know yet. I didn’t ask the doctors. He is strong. He leaves the pitch and his action is he felt something, otherwise, he would stay there,” he said. 

Sadly, matters now seem to have taken a turn for the worse. Keeping aside these last three remaining months of 2024, fingers are crossed for the next season. Nevertheless, for now, he has no option but to work on his recovery, which in fact, he has begun from this very instant.

Rodri leaves England for further tests on his ACL tear

After external tests confirmed that Rodri’s injury was quite the case, Manchester City’s medical team decided to further assess his condition. The Sky Blues ultimately chose to send their star midfielder to Barcelona for additional tests on his right knee with Dr. Cugat. Renowned transfer guru Fabrizio Romano shared a clip of the Champions League winner arriving in Spain along with his entourage.

Perhaps a meeting with Dr. Cugat may ease the concern surrounding his return. However, City should still prepare itself for the worst-case scenario. Pep Guardiola shall now turn to his fringe players and make the best use of them. The same initiative is expected from the players as well, who shall look towards stepping up in their star teammate’s absence. For now, we wish Rodri a speedy recovery.