Pep Guardiola breaks silence on Rodri injury but remains coy on return timeframe | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has remained coy when discussing the return timeframe of defensive midfield star Rodri.

The 28-year-old sustained a serious knee injury in the 21st minute of Manchester City’s Premier League clash against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, attacking the near-post while marshalled by Thomas Partey.

Planting his right-leg awkwardly, Rodri fell to the floor in severe discomfort and immediately called for medical attention before indicating that he could no longer continue in a mammoth Premier League clash, replaced by Mateo Kovacic.

The latest understanding is that Rodri is now in Spain for further examination on his knee injury, with media outlets capturing the midfielder’s arrival in Barcelona ahead of a visit to Dr. Ramon Cugat on Monday night.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Manchester City’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Watford on Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola was asked for any updates concerning the injury severity sustained by Rodri at the weekend.

“We are still waiting for the decision of the doctors, exactly what he has,” Guardiola responded at the Etihad Stadium. “When we know it, the club or myself, the spokesman of the club will announce it,” Guardiola continued.

In terms of a return timeframe, Guardiola remained largely coy and instead stated that the Spanish international would be ruled out for a ‘little while’.

The latest reporting is that Rodri has sustained a serious knee injury and potentially damage to his anterior cruciate ligament in the right knee, in a problem that is expected to rule him out for the remainder of the season.

Should that be the case, Manchester City will have to scramble among their existing options for a lengthy amount of time to source a suitable replacement, before considering the possibility of investing in the January transfer market.

In the meantime, the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan are the most likely to deputise in the defensive midfield role, while there could be added support from the likes of Rico Lewis and John Stones inverting from the right-back slot.