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‘Irreplaceable’: Pep Guardiola praises Rodri as City wait for injury diagnosis
Pep Guardiola will find out on Wednesday if he will be without Rodri for the rest of the season and has described his star midfielder as “irreplaceable”. The 28-year-old sustained a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury 21 minutes into the 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Guardiola, after his much-changed side beat Watford 2-1 in the Carabao Cup third round, was asked how long Rodri may be out. “Still we don’t have the definitive [diagnosis] but he will be out for a long time, a while,” Guardiola said. “But there are some opinions that maybe it will be less than we expected.
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“Unfortunately, he was injured, but right now I couldn’t tell you. We are waiting for the last phone calls from him and the doctors for what definitely he has and the type of surgery he has to get. We expect that tonight [or] tomorrow we will know exactly.”
Guardiola was asked about Rodri’s mood. “He’s OK,” the manager said. “He is strong, sad, of course, and waiting for the final decision of what he has to do. We don’t want it [the injury], but we will have a good season. I expect a lot from my players and I have a duty to find a solution even if Rodri is irreplaceable.
“When a team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow. But it’s football. It happens. And it is my duty to find a solution, be competitive as we have been for many, many years and be there, be a problem for our opponents.”
Guardiola pointed to how City overcame the absence of key players last season. “We were three months without Erling [Haaland], five months without Kevin [De Bruyne] and we found solutions,” the manager said. “Yes, he’s irreplaceable. But I will find a solution. There is an alternative, we will do it. When you have one player who is irreplaceable, as a team we have to find a solution.
“I realise for many times that the opponent after winning four Premier Leagues in a row they [opponents] aren’t going to start the red carpet for us, [say] perform like you want.”
Guardiola was asked if he thought Arsenal had targeted Rodri, with Kai Havertz having barged into him at the start of the game. “No,” he said. “I didn’t speak with him [Rodri, about this], hopefully he thinks the same as me.”
Guardiola said his friendship with Mikel Arteta is still strong, with them exchanging texts after the match.
