Waiting to know the definitive diagnosis of Rodrigo Hernandezwho passed the final exams this Tuesday at Madrid Because of his knee injury (everything points to a rupture of the cruciate ligament in his right knee), football does not stop; he City of Manchester will be measured in WatfordEdit in the round of 16 of League Cup in the first post match Rodri.
The decrease of Rodrigo Hernandez is so big that it can derail the season of citywho are used to suffering whenever the Spanish midfielder is unavailable. Last year he missed four matches Premier League and the City lost them all. He amassed an unbeaten streak of 74 games, between February 2023 and May 2024 and it was only broken in the final of FA Cup that he city it is surprising that he surrendered to Manchester United.
If not Rodrihe city is another, and Pep Guardiola He did not hide it: “He is an irreplaceable player,” the Spanish coach stated on several occasions.
Faced with the prospect that he will be out for several months and could miss the entire season, the city can look with some optimism on the early stages of this campaign. If not Rodriinjured in the final of European Cuphe city won the Community Shield he is new United and the three games of premier against Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United.
What happened when Rodri was away?
when Rodri never been, Guardiola has opted for a double pivot on Rico Lewis and Matthew Kovacicincluding Kevin de Bruyne and Bernard Silva in front and two bands. When Spanish is available, the presence in the medium is reduced, because Rodri He has the ability to monopolize more space and the ball.
The template of city He has no other player with similar qualities Rodribeing Kovacic, Lewis, Gundogan and Matheus Nunes players of different profiles. And although they are similar in style, none of them are at the level of a footballer who showed his best version last season and next Ballon d’Or will opt for at least the podium.
The impact of losing this player could be on the same level as that of a centre-back. Virgil van Dijk In 2020-2021, when the Dutchman injured his cruciate in October, he missed the entire season and Liverpool from being the champion to third place behind City and United.
Injuries are not new to him. city not even for Guardiolawho already used emergency hiring in the winter of Aymeric Laporte because of defensive losses, and as recently as last year, when he had to face without Kevin de Bruyne for five months. The absence of the Belgian, the highest paid player in the team, did not prevent City from winning a fourth consecutive Premier League, reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League and reaching the final of the FA Cup.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
