MANCHESTER – Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season after undergoing ACL surgery on Friday.
The Spain international also had meniscus damage.
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“This season is over (for him). We got the worst (news possible) but it is what it is,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “We are there to support him in a good recovery, step by step and move forward.”
Rodri injured his right knee on Sunday in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
An ACL injury can take from six months to a year to heal.
That could be a major blow to City's chances of winning a record-extending fifth English Premier League in a row.
“We don’t have a similar player, but the other players all together can replace what Rodri has given since he arrived to us,” Guardiola said. “We have to do it as a team and we have to find a way to play a lot of months without an important player for us.”
Rodri's importance to City was underlined last term when the team lost four of nine games without him. By comparison, City lost just one of 50 games with him in the team.
He also helped Spain win the European Championship this summer and is among the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world.
While he will be out for the rest of the campaign, Guardiola said it would likely take even longer for him to return to peak form.
“You have to be careful because when you have an ACL injury, in nine months, the year after, you have problems, muscular problems for sure. So that’s why it’s longer. I think Rodri will become to his best after not just ight, nine months,” Guardiola said.
Rodri's injury came after he warned last week that top players could go on strike because of the number of games they are being asked to play as new competitions are introduced to an already-packed soccer calendar and matches are added to existing tournaments.
The Champions League has been expanded so there are two more games in the new-look group stage. Next year’s Club World Cup will be a 32-team event for the first time, up from seven. It is slated for the offseason for many major leagues in June-July.
The revamped Club World Cup has prompted a legal challenge from players’ unions.
On Tuesday, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said the risk of more injuries to top players was “almost unavoidable” because of the increased demands.
City plays Newcastle on Saturday and will be without Kevin De Bruyne, who is still to recover from an apparent strain he suffered against Inter Milan last week.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer