‘Irreplaceable’: Pep Guardiola praises Rodri as City await injury diagnosis | Manchester City

Pep Guardiola will find out on Wednesday whether he will be without Rodri for the rest of the season and has described his star midfielder as “irreplaceable”. The 28-year-old suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury 21 minutes into Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola, after his much-reformed side beat Watford 2-1 in the third round of the Carabao Cup, was asked how long Rodri could be out. “We still don’t have a definitive (diagnosis), but he will be out for a long time, a while,” Guardiola said. “But there are opinions that it may be less than we expected.

“Unfortunately he was injured, but I can’t tell you yet. We’re waiting for the final phone calls from him and the doctors about what exactly he has and what kind of surgery he needs. We expect to know exactly tonight (or) tomorrow.”

Guardiola was asked about Rodri’s mood. “He is OK,” the manager said. “He is strong, sad of course, and waiting for the final decision on what 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 the 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’s a big blow. But it’s football. It happens. And it’s my duty to find a solution, to be competitive as we have been for many, many years and to be there, to be a problem for our opponents.”

Guardiola pointed to how City overcame the lack of key players last season. “We were without Erling (Haaland) for three months, without Kevin (De Bruyne) for five months and we found solutions,” the manager said. “Yes, he is 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 have realised many times that after winning the Premier League four times in a row, the opponent will not step on the red carpet for us and will not perform as you want.”

Guardiola was asked if he thought Arsenal had targeted Rodri, given that Kai Havertz had attacked him early in the game. “No,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to him (Rodri, about this), hopefully he feels the same as me.”

Guardiola said his friendship with Mikel Arteta remains strong and they still exchange text messages after matches.