Manchester City’s Worrying Record Without Rodri Amid The Spaniard’s Rumoured Season-Ending ACL Injury

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is reportedly set to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign after suffering a knee injury against Arsenal, and the Cityzens’ record without the Spaniard doesn’t bode well for their title ambitions.

Despite the delight of John Stones’ late equaliser against Arsenal last Sunday, Manchester City have been left sweating over the fitness of star midfielder Rodri, who was withdrawn after just 21 minutes due to a knee injury.

While attacking a corner, the Spaniard went down clutching his right knee and was clearly in severe pain. His reaction and the lengthy spell of treatment were clear signs that this was indeed a serious injury.

His absence was immediately felt too, as Riccardo Calafiori drew the Gunners level only a minute after he was forced off, before they took the lead through Gabriel on the stroke of half-time.

In his post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola said he did not know the extent of the Ballon d’Or contender’s injury, but reports on Monday from several outlets suggested that the midfielder could be out for the rest of the season after initial tests confirmed an ACL injury. He is, however, set to undergo further assessment.

Manchester City’s Worrying Record Without Rodri

Since his arrival in Manchester from Atletico Madrid in 2019, it’s been evident that Rodri is irreplaceable. He is quite simply one of, if not the, best on the planet at what he does, and his record with City clearly displays that.

In the Premier League, the Cityzens were unbeaten whenever the 28-year-old was in their line-up last term, with their defeats to Wolves, Aston Villa and Arsenal all coming when he was ruled out either through injury or suspension.

Since March 2023, Rodri has lost just one competitive match for club and country, which came when City were beaten 2-1 by bitter rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley at the end of last season.

City’s record without the midfielder speaks for itself, as in the 21 Premier League games he has missed since signing in 2019, they have lost seven of them – a whopping 33% loss rate. In comparison, Guardiola’s side have a 10.9% loss rate when Rodri is playing, with his record sitting at 19 defeats across 174 English top-flight matches.

Sunday’s clash against Arsenal was also the 52nd consecutive Premier League game that Rodri had started for the reigning champions without suffering defeat, a record that would’ve been brought to an end had Stones not turned home a 98th-minute leveller.

His absence will undoubtedly be sorely felt by Manchester City and their fans, and it leaves question marks as to how Guardiola will deal with the blow, especially with such a congested fixture schedule over the coming months.

Manchester City Upcoming Fixtures

• Manchester City vs Watford (Carabao Cup) – 24/09/24
• Newcastle vs Manchester City (Premier League) – 28/09/24
• Slovan Bratislava vs Manchester City (Champions League) – 01/10/24
• Manchester City vs Fulham (Premier League) – 05/10/24

Despite potentially losing arguably their most influential player for the rest of the season, the UK’s best football betting sites still have City as favourites to retain the Premier League title at a price of around 11/8. They are also favourites to win the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, as well as the UEFA Champions League.