Despite being one of the most tactically innovative managers that the game has ever seen, Pep Guardiola would have been left scratching his head about how to go about replacing the injured Rodri.

The Spanish international is the heartbeat of this Manchester City side and arguably their outright best player.

With City's decision not to splash the cash on a direct alternative for Rodri in the summer transfer window, Pep Guardiola does not have the luxury of merely starting another natural holding midfielder in his absence.

Instead, the Catalan tactician will either have to conjure up a solution to counter the 28-year-old's absence or potentially accept the fact that his team might be unable to win any major silverware this season.

So far, Pep Guardiola has placed his trust in Mateo Kovacic as the man to play at the base of midfield; an experiment that has yielded mixed results.

Naturally, with Kovacic not being a natural defensive midfielder and having to adjust to playing in a completely different position in Rodri's absence at the start of the season and after his injury.

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This campaign, Pep Guardiola has set his team up in a 3-1-6 shape in possession: with the Croatian playing as the single pivot.

In Manchester City's 3-2 win against Fulham, where Kovacic scored a brace, he started as the deepest-lying midfielder, with Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden in more advanced roles alongside Rico Lewis - who was tasked to make his way forward from right-back.

Considering the former Inter Milan technician also scored a stunner against Chelsea, done a satisfactory job for the most part while City have remained unbeaten in all competitions, some would suggest that Rodri's absence is not being felt by the team.

Against both Newcastle and Fulham in particular, Pep Guardiola's side have had their fair share of troubles in defending transitions due to a lack of physicality and defensive awareness in the middle of the park.

According to Sofascore, in City's latest outing, Kovacic (two out of eight), Gundogan (two out of four) and Foden (two out of five) won a mere six out of their 15 ground duels during the contest - a damning statistic for any midfield.

As a result, Fulham were incredibly potent at the Etihad Stadium on the break as the hosts seemingly could not find ways to curb their counter-attacks on several instances.

Going forward, one way Pep Guardiola could manage to do so is by reverting to his most-discussed tactical idea during Manchester City's treble-winning season: starting John Stones in his signature hybrid role once again.

Whether that is from centre-back or from full-back, Stones could drift into midfield when City have possession and partner Kovacic in the middle of the park.

During the Sky Blues' treble-winning campaign, the Englishman's presence in midfield gave his side plenty of advantages; something it could still do if Guardiola decided to return to this very ploy.

The first and most obvious potential perk of Stones partnering Manchester City's makeshift defensive midfielder of choice, whether that is Kovacic or Gundogan is help them shoulder their defensive burden.

The PS250,000-a-week man remains a top-class defender and with his experience in the role, he could help his partner in midfield snuff out danger, intercept incisive passes and make crucial challenges.

In the current setup, Pep Guardiola has tasked the holding midfielder to play in a single pivot; a role that did not particularly suit Kovacic against Fulham as he is not as athletically gifted as Rodri.

Stones' presence would not only help the former Chelsea midfielder but it would give far more protection to Manchester City's midfield as a whole due to the presence of an extra body.

With the six-time Premier League winner playing in such a role, he would also be far more of a test for opposition players to bully during duels due to him being a strong physical presence.

Another key reason to why Stones should be tasked to partner Kovacic in midfield is due to his excellent range of passing.

The latter is far more of a short passer, as he breaks the lines and keeps things ticking.

Stones, on the other hand has always been help to spray every type of pass from his time at Everton; a factor that Rodri has brought to the table for Manchester City and helped them progress up the pitch in quick-time.

The 30-year-old, much like Lewis, who has been instructed to invert from the backline is also capable of causing opposition managers tactical headaches as he during two seasons ago; picking up a variety of positions across the pitch and acting as an extra man for City in a wide array of zones.

With Stones' experience, defensive solidity, physicality, passing range and tactical intelligence being traits that still firmly remain in his game, Pep Guardiola has every reason to rely on this very tactic to ensure Manchester City do not look as vulnerable in Rodri's absence.