Rodri ruled out for remainder of Manchester City’s 2024/25 season with double injury, confirms Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed Rodri will be ruled out for the remainder of the club’s 2024/25 season with a double injury.

The Catalan coach has been speaking ahead of the Premier League champions’ return to English top-flight action this weekend, having followed a draw against Arsenal with progression in the Carabao Cup.

Manchester City defeated Championship side Watford at the Etihad Stadium just 49 hours after an enthralling meeting with Mikel Arteta’s side, with goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes lining up a fourth round encounter away at Tottenham.

However, much of the pre-match discussion and conversation during the week has centred around defensive midfield star and Ballon d’Or favourite Rodri, after the Spaniard sustained a serious knee injury against Arsenal last weekend.

The former Villarreal and Atletico Madrid man travelled to Spain for further assessment and examination on the problem, with reports on Friday indicating that surgery had been undertaken in the capital city of Madrid.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s trip to face Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, Pep Guardiola was quizzed for a further update on the situation surrounding Rodri and his injury blow.

“He got surgery this morning, an ACL and some meniscus [injury], so next season he will be here. This season is over,” Pep Guardiola confirmed in a significant update on the Spanish international.

He continued, “Unfortunately he got the worst [outcome]. But it is what it is. Unfortunately at that level, unfortunately it happens. We are there to support him, and good recovery, he will recover step by step and move forward.”

On coping with the challenge of competing without the 28-year-old, Guardiola continued, “A lot of months without an important player for us, everybody knows it. And like all the teams want, a speedy recovery for next season to compete against them.”

Pep Guardiola has previously insisted on both he and Manchester City remaining confident over continuing to challenge for the biggest of honours this season, pointing towards the lengthy absences of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne as examples of handling adversity.

However, it remains to be seen exactly how the Premier League champions cope without arguably their most important player, and whether they deem it necessary to turn to the January transfer window in search of further support in the absence of the Spaniard.