Gary Neville Is Confident That Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola Will Adapt After Rodri Injury Blow

Gary Neville is confident that Pep Guardiola has a “trick up his sleeve” to adapt his Manchester City side following Rodri’s injury blow.

Neville Backs Guardiola To Adapt Without Rodri

Manchester City’s title hopes have received a significant blow with the long-term injury to midfield maestro Rodri.

The Spanish international sustained a ligament injury during their Premier League clash against Arsenal, leaving a gaping hole in the City midfield.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, however, remains confident in Pep Guardiola’s ability to find a solution.

Speaking on The Overlap US podcast, Neville said, “I was thinking: ‘What will Pep Guardiola have up his sleeve?’ You think of a man who put [Javier] Mascherano at centre-half for Barcelona, a man who’s put players into different positions that we would never have expected as a manager.”

Neville added, “And I was thinking: ‘Who is he going to put in there? How is he going to play to compensate for the loss of this probably talisman-type figure?’

“I think of only [Erling] Haaland probably that you could take out of the City team that would damage them as much as Rodri.

“I know [Kevin] De Bruyne’s there; I’m not ignoring him, but if you were Arsenal and you could take one player out of the City team, because they’ve lost [Julian] Alvarez, you’d take Haaland out probably number one, you’d probably take Rodri out number two.”

Who Will Pep Replace Rodri With?

One potential candidate to fill the void is John Stones, who has shown versatility in recent seasons. Stones has played a hybrid role between centre-back and midfield, and Guardiola may look to him to provide a defensive anchor.

Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is another option with experience in a holding midfield role, as is Ilkay Gundogan, who covered for Rodri as a #6 multiple times during his first stint with the club.

The absence of Rodri is a major setback for City, who have been dominant in recent seasons. His defensive prowess and ability to control the tempo of games have been crucial to their success.

With Arsenal hot on their heels, and a lot of football still to be played, Guardiola will be under pressure to find a suitable replacement and maintain City’s title challenge.