Manchester City has suffered injury setbacks this season but it doesn’t seem like it’s ending soon with Rodrigo added to the list of the club’s injured players.
It is amazing to see the club still perform the way they do despite all the injuries particularly in their defense. Although, one must admit the big void the injuries have left in the club has started to have effects.
A report has claimed that Pep Guardiola does not have any intention of bringing in a cover for his injured defenders in January and this has raised questions especially on how the club will hold till then if they can even hold at all. Waiting for the injured players to come back from injury is leaving everything to chance.
In a piece of recent news, Guardiola confirmed that another major part of his squad, Rodrigo will be out for a couple of weeks. As it is, we are looking at nothing less than two weeks or more.
Like it wasn’t enough that the team has had players like Leroy Sane, Aymeric Laporte, Kevin De Bruyne, Benjamin Mendy and Oleksandr Zinchenko injured, another addition to a number of others with no replacement will surely shake the club. As it is, the injuries on the ground have made Manchester City play catch up with Liverpool who tops the Premier League table with six points ahead of Manchester City.
Rodrigo was brought in from Atletico Madrid as a long-term replacement for Fernandinho, and the Spaniard has become a key player at the Etihad Stadium. In 2019/20, the 23-year-old is the only name to feature in all of City’s matches across three different competitions; which underlines his importance to the side. His versatility also gives him an edge in the team, which immediately made him a favorite for his new manager.
Will Rodrigo’s absence be missed?
Of course, he will be missed. Rodrigo has proved his value by not only excelling in his preferred defensive-midfield position but also being able to fill in at the centre of defense.
Players like Aymeric Laporte who was injured and had to be out for a long time left Guardiola short and also, no replacement was brought in for Vincent Kompany when he left. John Stones also out of the way, the only option is Nicholas Otamendi who has shown a couple of times that his defensive ability is somewhat flawed and that has led to Fernandinho playing in defense. With Rodrigo out, the midfield is sure to suffer.
What this means for Manchester City
With all these injuries setbacks for the club, it will be tough for them to defend the league title. Hopes are high and many fans are waiting to see them win the Premier League title three seasons in a row. As it is now, that might not be a very visible thing to hope for.
Although it is too early in the season to decide what will happen, but with strong teams like Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal trying to also get the title, Manchester City will be having it rough if a quick solution is not found.
Conclusion
It might not look like it because Rodrigo is just one player out of eleven but his position in the squad is as important as well. With him out and no replacement for him, what might happen is seeing Guardiola try to use a player who isn’t naturally a midfielder in his position. This has shown to not be so much of a good idea with the defense but he doesn’t have so much of a choice and might have to settle for what he has.
