Manchester City routed Atalanta tonight in Champions League group stage play, but the win certainly came with a a hefty price tag. Rodri, a central midfielder acquired this summer as cover for/eventual replacement of Fernandinho, suffered a hamstring injury tonight and had to be subbed off 40 minutes in.
He had been playing alongside Fernandinho in central defense, as John Stones is not full yet back into the swing of things and Aymeric Laporte remains a long term injury (knee) absentee. Right now, City is short-handed in the spine of the team, and it might get worse before it gets better.
“Tomorrow we will know,” Manchester City manager Guardiola said. “Hopefully [Rodri will be out] between 10 days if it is not broken [torn].
“If it is broken, it will be three weeks or one month. It is hamstring, it looks like. When a guy runs and puts his hand in the hamstring position, it is a hamstring.”
If it’s the worst case scenario, then Rodri could end up missing the blockbuster clash at Liverpool at November 10.
Elsewhere, the club also announced prior to tonight’s match that left back Oleksandr Zinchenko had suffered a knee injury and “will be assessed over the coming days to determine the extent of the problem.”
The statement also added: “everyone at City wishes Oleks a speedy recovery.” So it appears Guardiola may have selection issues in the middle, and especially in the back, in the near term future. Up next for City is a home league fixture against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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