When Ilkay Gundogan signed for Manchester City, a player he reserved special praise for was Rodri.

Gundogan described Rodri as "irreplaceable" and as a player who does not get the credit he deserves.

An ACL ruled Rodri out for the season after a summer where he won the European Championship as the Player of the Tournament and Spain's vice-captain.

It was recently claimed that Manchester City are gearing up to replace Rodri in January as the likelier scenario rather than leaving their squad as it is - targeting a Premier League-proven midfielder.

Ian Wright claimed Rodri's absence is a massive problem for Manchester City after their 3-2 win against Fulham.

Since Rodri has been injured, City have managed to draw one league game and win their other two in his absence.

Ilkay Gundogan claims Pep Guardiola will "find a solution" to Rodri injury However, in the meantime, Manchester City have also conceded four goals in their last three games.

Furthermore, City's victories against Fulham and Wolves were far from comfortable.

Speaking on The Official Man City Podcast, Gundogan initially expressed his views on Rodri's injury: "We'll miss now a big player for us with Rodri being out injured for a bit, which is a big blast for us obviously. Not just in terms of his quality on the pitch but in terms of personality and character."

"But if we have shown something or proven something in the last years, it is that we always can deal with these kinds of circumstances quite well and that's now the target for the future."

Gundogan joked: "Yeah, just trust Pep [Guardiola] you know."

Gundogan has revealed how Pep Guardiola will react to Rodri's injury, backing him to conjure something out of nothing to replace him: "He'll find a solution and I think he will have a good feeling for the situation and it's something that again, he has experienced throughout the years and it's something he will know best what to do and for us players, we know about showing him that everyone is ready and making the choice for him as difficult as possible to put a starting 11 for every game."

"And then we'll be fine, knowing that we are missing a huge player for us."

Pep Guardiola played down how much Manchester City are missing Rodri earlier this month and instead mentioned it would be lazy to suggest that their defensive woes are strictly down to his absence.

Mateo Kovacic admitted Manchester City are missing Rodri Mateo Kovacic is a player who has been drafted in by Guardiola to replace the 28-year-old - starting in his side's latest 2-1 win against Wolves as well.

It seems like the PS378,846-a-week manager has identified the Croatian international as the best candidate to do a job at the base of midfield until the Spaniard returns to full fitness.

Kovacic admitted Manchester City are missing Rodri despite his recent brace against Fulham.

"I'm playing at the moment there so I need to cover for Rodri. We miss him a lot, I think any team would miss a player like Rodri."

"We wish him a speedy recovery and that he comes back in good shape as soon as possible. But for now, we have to adapt and for sure the manager has a lot of options so we can rotate."

Kovacic's admission indicates that the City squad are also trying their level-best to adapt to life without Rodri.

Whether Manchester City manage to do so successfully could decide whether they will the Premier League or not.

Related Posts