Man City star Mateo Kovacic talks replacing Rodri after scoring twice in Fulham win | OneFootball

Former Chelsea midfielder believes Pep Guardiola has sufficient options to cover for major injury blow

Mateo Kovacic believes Manchester City can cover for injured midfielder Rodri after scoring twice in their 3-2 win over Fulham.

Jeremy Doku hit the pivotal third goal to see off Marco Silva’s side, who opened the scoring through Andreas Pereira and then struck a further consolation thanks to Rodrigo Muniz.

And Kovacic thinks City have the players to replace Rodri, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

"I am playing there in the middle at the moment and of course we need to cover for Rodri, we miss him a lot,” Kovacic said.

Brace: Mateo Kovacic celebrates his second goal for Manchester City in their 3-2 win over Fulham

AFP via Getty Images

“I think any team would miss him, the player that he is, and we wish him a speedy recovery and hope he comes back in a good a shape as possible.

"For now we have to adapt and for sure the manager has a lot of options so we can rotate."

Ilkay Gundogan played alongside Kovacic with Phil Foden further ahead in midfield, while Kevin De Bruyne is close to returning from injury and Matheus Nunes and James McAtee are other options. Kovacic now has three goals for the season and dedicated his brace to his unborn child.

"It means a lot because my wife is pregnant so it was great to get some goals for the little one,” he added. “It's nice to score but the most important thing is the team and that we won today. It is never easy to play in the Premier League and today we showed great character. Good game for us.

"We play every three days and every game is a tough one. It is not easy and we have to adapt to the schedule. It is what it is. We have to be in top form every day. We could have conceded an equaliser but thankfully we have Ederson in our goal."

On Doku’s goal, he said: “That's what you ask from a great winger, to make the difference off the bench and he did great. It was a good game today."

Kovacic continued: "It was a tough game like every game in the Premier League, we always say that there are no easy games.

“We dominated in the beginning and couldn't score, conceded the goal and then came back quickly. In the end we won it and it was a tough game against an opponent in good form, so for us it is good to continue winning.

“The manager told us that we should be in and around the box because the ball always arrives there. I was luckily there and Bernardo [Silva] gave me a good ball, it was good control and a good shot.

"It is always important to get the win, it doesn't matter who scores, the most important thing is getting three points. And now we hope to continue like this."