Man City dealt huge injury scare as Rodri subbed off after gruesome tackle

22 December 2023 , 19:40

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Man City dealt huge injury scare as Rodri subbed off after gruesome tackle

Manchester City will be sweating on the fitness of midfielder Rodri after the Spaniard suffered an injury in the Club World Cup final against Fluminense.

Rodri went to ground in pain following a challenge from opposition midfielder Alexsander during the second half of the game in Jeddah. He attempted to continue, but City decided not to take any further risks with the game already all but won.

Pep Guardiola's team were already three goals to the good when the injury occurred. Julian Alvarez opened the scoring in the first minute, with Nino scoring an own goal and Phil Foden scoring City's third.

Rodri has been a key man for City since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019. He scored the winner in the Champions League final, and Guardiola's team have struggled when he has missed games this term.

City's three Premier League defeats this term have come in games which the 27-year-old has missed. They were beaten by Wolves and Arsenal when he was serving a red card suspension following a dismissal against Nottingham Forest, while the more recent loss at Aston Villa occurred with Rodri banned for accumulation of yellow cards.

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The Fluminense game was already all but over by the time he made way for Manuel Akanji, but City still had time to add a fourth. It was Alvarez again, with the World Cup winner dropping a shoulder before firing low beyond goalkeeper Fabio.

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Rodri being fouled by Alexsander (FIFA via Getty Images)

City were already without top scorer Erling Haaland for both Club World Cup games. The Norwegian had missed City's last two Premier League games through injury and also sat out the semi-final victory against Urawa Reds as well as the final against South American champions Fluminense.

The Premier League champions will return to domestic action with a game against Everton on December 27, after a scheduled game against Brentford was postponed to allow them to travel to Saudi Arabia. City, who have been without midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for the bulk of the campaign, will wait to discover whether Rodri will be fit to play a part.

After the Everton game comes a meeting with strugglers Sheffield United on December 30. That will be City's last league game until January 13, though, with the FA Cup third round meeting with Huddersfield Town taking place in the interim.

Tom Victor