“The assessment is continuing to determine the extent of the injury and the expected prognosis” regarding his length of unavailability, the club from the northwest of England said about the 28-year-old player, who injured “the ligaments of the right knee” against Arsenal (2-2) on Sunday in the Premier League.
This type of injury usually results in an absence of several months. Some British media have even mentioned a season already over for the midfielder, European champion this summer with Spain.
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Rodri was injured in the first quarter of an hour of the match while trying to escape Thomas Partey’s marking from a corner.
His long-term absence is a major blow to Manchester City, even though the wealthy club with Emirati capital has a depth of bench that is second to none.
Last week, the Spanish international denounced the increase in the number of matches per season and its consequences on the health of the players as well as on the quality of the game played.
The current schedule, “in my humble opinion, is too much,” he said. “We have to take care of ourselves, we are the main characters of this sport, or this business, whatever you call it,” Rodri explained, raising the possibility of a players’ strike.
The scorer in the 2023 Champions League final, won for the first time by the “Citizens”, has lost only one of his last 84 matches for club and country.
Since his arrival in 2019, Manchester City have lost just 11% of the 260 games Rodri has played, according to figures from statisticians Opta. The percentage of defeats rises to 24% in his absence during this period.
Last season, the team in the sky blue jersey lost four of the five matches played without the former Atletico Madrid player, a run that does not include the elimination against Real Madrid on penalties in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
