[Getty Images]
It's the news every Manchester City fan was dreading.
The Premier League champions are yet to announce how long midfielder Rodri will be out for after suffering a knee injury in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, but reports suggest he could be out for a long time.
There are even concerns he may not return this season.
The 28-year-old Rodri is one of the favourites to win next month's Ballon d'Or, awarded to the world's best player, and is regarded by many as City's most influential player.
The reigning English champions are unbeaten in any of their last 48 Premier League games in which the Spaniard – who was named Player of the Tournament when his country won Euro 2024 – has started.
However, City lost four of the five games he missed last season and Rodri has only lost one game in all competitions, not including the penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League and the 2-1 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
How big a loss will his injury be for their domestic and European hopes?
Will the loss of the absent Spaniard affect the outcome of the title?
After Rodri made his Manchester City debut against Liverpool in the 2019 Community Shield, teammate Kevin De Bruyne described him as a “perfect fit” in the team.
He wasn't wrong.
The Spanish midfielder's influence has been phenomenal since his move from Atletico Madrid, with City losing just 11% of their games while he was in the team and 24% without him.
With Rodri in the team, City average 2.36 points per game across all competitions, and without him they score just 2.04.
So, if Rodri were to miss the remainder of the Premier League season, using these averages, City would finish the season with 80 points, but their expected points if he plays every week is 91.
In three of the past four seasons, 91 points would have been enough to win the title.
However, the last team to win the league with as few as 80 points was Manchester United in 2010-11, with Roberto Mancini's City finishing third that year.
Why is the midfielder important to City?
Why is he so effective?
Simply put, he wins the ball back from opponents and passes it to the rest of his team — and he does it with metronomic precision.
Since his debut in a 5-0 win over West Ham, only Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has won the ball back more often than Rodri. No other player has won the ball back more often in the central third of the pitch and only seven players have made more tackles during that time.
His reading of the game and fighting nature gave City a real defensive strength, with the club keeping 73 clean sheets in the 260 games he played for them.
But what really sets him apart is his use of the ball.
Since joining the Premier League, Rodri has completed nearly 2,000 more passes than any other player, with the City midfielder completing 13,699 passes in total, behind Brighton defender Lewis Dunk with 11,952.
He is also completing more passes both in the opposition's half and at the back line, and his passing accuracy of 91.9% proves that he rarely loses the ball despite working it deep into the opposition's half.
Who will replace him? Kovacic, Gündogan or Luiz?
Simon Stone, BBC Sport's chief football correspondent:
Manager Pep Guardiola has never made it secret that he believes Rodri is an irreplaceable player in Manchester City's squad as the lone midfielder.
Kalvin Phillips is the closest thing City have to a midfielder in their squad but Guardiola has long felt the ex-Leeds man is not good enough and he is currently loaned out to Ipswich and cannot be recalled until January.
This means Guardiola is likely to tweak his formation and opt to use two defensive midfielders.
Former Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic could fill that role, but he is not the only option.
Centre-back John Stones has rarely played as a sole defensive midfielder during his time at the Etihad, but has occasionally been moved from centre-back or right-back into a deep-lying role.
Ilkay Gundogan was used in that position on numerous occasions before moving to Barcelona in 2023. Bernardo Silva has also played in the position, but now makes occasional appearances in place of Kevin De Bruyne.
And then there's 19-year-old Rico Ruiz, a player whose versatility means he can play in a number of positions, Guardiola said just last week.
Losing Rodri for an extended period of time would be a huge blow for City, but if anyone can plan how to deal with that, it's Guardiola.
There are only a few months left in the January transfer window.
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton told Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: “I don't think there's anyone who can fill that role like Rodri, but Kovacic is a capable substitute. They will find a way around it, and they always have.”
