Manchester City’s trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United will kick off the Premier League weekend in Saturday’s lunchtime clash.
The 12.30pm kick-off will give Pep Guardiola’s men the chance to extend their lead over the top, with the champions heading into the match sitting one point clear of Liverpool, thanks to the late point they secured against Arsenal last weekend.
But that game did come at a cost, as influential midfielder Rodri limped off during the first-half. Here’s a look at the latest regarding his knee injury.
Is Rodri injured this weekend?
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is preparing for life without Rodri (Image credit: Getty Images)
Rodri was forced off after 21 minutes at the Etihad last weekend after he tussled with Thomas Partey at a corner. After going down injured and receiving treatment, he was replaced by Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, with Rodri again missing out when City saw off Championship side Watford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.
Reports emerged on Monday that the Spaniard had suffered a serious injury, with the club themselves confirming the news no City fan wanted to hear on Tuesday.
Mateo Kovacic is likely to replace Rodri in the heart of Manchester City’s midfield (Image credit: Getty Images)
“The midfielder travelled to Spain to seek specialist consultation this week, following initial tests in Manchester. Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis.”
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VIDEO The ONLY Way Man City Can Survive Without Rodri
Guardiola was then asked about the injury following Tuesday’s match, confirming the Euro 2024 winner will miss significant time.
“Rodri is irreplaceable and the team won’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time,” the Catalan admitted. “Of course it’s a big, big blow for us but I have a duty to find a solution. But it is football, it happens. When one player is irreplaceable we find solutions as a team.
“Last season, we were three months without Erling [Haaland], five months without Kevin [de Bruyne] and we found solutions.”
Rodri will therefore obviously miss the Newcastle United game, with Kovacic the most likely candidate to replace him. Guardiola is also waiting to see if his skipper Kevin De Bruyne will be fit to face the Magpies after he injured his thigh in the Champions League draw against Inter earlier this month.
