Seriously injured in his right knee against Arsenal last Sunday, the Spanish European champion Rodri had surgery this Friday and will not play the PSG/City clash next January since his 2024/2025 season has already ended .
This is a huge blow for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. As expected, Rodri’s season is over after his serious knee injury contracted last Sunday during the clash between the Citizens and Arsenal (2-2). The Spanish European champion, who had complained a few days earlier about the infernal pace of the calendar, had surgery this Friday and will be absent for several months.
Season over for Rodri, package for PSG/City
Present at a press conference on the eve of his team’s trip to Newcastle, Pep Guardiola confirmed the news: “He had surgery this morning on the anterior cruciate ligament and part of the meniscus. So he will be there next season. The current season is over for him,” confided the Catalan coach before adding: “We don’t have a player similar to Rodri, but all the other players can replace what Rodri has brought to us since his arrival. We have to do it as a team and find a way to play for many months without an important player. »
If the match is still far away, PSG will host Manchester City on January 22 at the Parc des Princes as part of the 7th day of the Champions League and this clash will therefore be played without the Spanish midfielder, who is the hub of the English champion and probably one of the best players in the world in his position.
City will not be able to field Rodri’s possible replacement against PSG
During his press conference today, Guardiola was also asked about the upcoming winter transfer window and the possible recruitment of a midfielder to replace Rodri: “We will see, we spoke today with Txiki (Begiristain, City sporting director) and we will see how it goes. We don’t have to make a decision tomorrow, do we? We have time to see what potential problems we have, and we will see…”
Guardiola also spoke of internal solutions: “Rico Lewis with Mateo Kovacic is one of the solutions. We have a few more. Gündogan can play in this position, John (Stones) and Manu (Akanji) have played in this position. So we have alternatives…”
If Manchester City recruits a midfielder in January, they will not be able to include him on their A list before the second phase of the Champions League. PSG will therefore face the English club without Rodri on January 22 and without his possible replacement. More generally, no recruit from the winter transfer window will be able to participate in the two Champions League matches in January.
PSG’s full Champions League schedule:
- Tuesday October 1 at 9 p.m.: Arsenal/PSG
- Tuesday October 22 at 9 p.m.: PSG/PSV Eindhoven
- Wednesday November 6 at 9 p.m.: PSG/Atlético Madrid
- Tuesday November 26 at 9 p.m.: Bayern Munich/PSG
- Tuesday December 10 at 9 p.m.: Salzburg/PSG
- Wednesday January 22 at 9 p.m.: PSG/Manchester City
- Wednesday January 29 at 9 p.m.: VfB Stuttgart/PSG
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