Rodri, a huge hole for City to fill and huge issue for football to address.
Two of the saddest footballing images of the year were Rodri limping out of the Euro 2024 final on July 14 in Berlin and then being helped off the pitch at the Etihad on Sunday. Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder is a magnificent footballer, and a very eloquent statesmen for player causes, but he won’t be seen or heard for a while as he recovers from another injury, potentially an ACL. Rodri now joins 15 other Premier League players currently sidelined with a knee injury.
The story is one of personal anguish for an individual who loves playing, was at the peak of his game and now faces months of rehab. Rodri’s absence causes a major problem for Manchester (and Spain) in filling a huge hole in midfield. Pep Guardiola has options of varying strengths to cover for Rodri, whether Mateo Kovacic, who came on against Arsenal and could partner Ilkay Gundogan in a double pivot. That’s the problem with losing Rodri; you basically need two players to do what he does.
It's probably too early for Rico Lewis, however willing and versatile. John Stones can definitely play that role and has done for Guardiola before. Stones’ ball-playing abilities were nurtured by youth coaches Mark Burton and Ronnie Branson at Barnsley, where he played a couple of times for the Under-16s in midfield, but was mainly used as a centre-back stepping into midfield. Stones is comfortable in there.