It was only a matter of months ago that Manchester City opened the Premier League season with four straight wins while missing a host of key players.
But fastforward to November and the Blues have suffered four successive defeats to slip five points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League, suffer a chastening Champions League night in Lisbon, and exit the Carabao Cup at Tottenham. The injury crisis has shown no sign of abating with a clutch of players missing or playing through fitness issues.
It all means Pep Guardiola must try and find a solution sooner rather than later ahead of a defining period of the campaign that begins with top flight games against Spurs and Liverpool over the coming weeks. While the volume of players absent has undoubtedly hampered City in recent weeks, particularly with Guardiola's penchant for a small squad, the recent losing run has again shone a light on Rodri's importance to this City side.
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The Spaniard has been key to City's success in recent years but suffered an ACL injury early in the season and has set the Club World Cup next summer as a possible return date. And Roy Keane believes the midfielder's absence is telling.
“My problem with City," said Keane, speaking on The Overlap, sponsored by Sky Bet. "Obviously they’ve been on this road before and can bounce back of course, but it’s their lack of intensity. Even though they’ve lost Rodri, his physical appearance and looking after them [the players] is missing.”
City may look to bring in a Rodri replacement in January, although acting in the winter transfer window is not something the club often do. The Blues also have manager Pep Guardiola and talisman Kevin De Bruyne out of contract in the summer with the future of both uncertain.
And former England striker Ian Wright believes the lack of clarity around Guardiola's decision, plus the ongoing 115 charges against the club, will be impacting player business.
“Everything that’s going on with Manchester City – I’m not sure if he (Guardiola) will stay, not sure what’s going on with the charges. Is it a place that as a top player, I’m going to go to City now, not knowing if Pep’s going to be there or what’s going to happen with the charges?" said Wright.
“You’d probably wait until the summer. (Martin) Zubimendi has been linked – why would he go there with all the uncertainty? If you are a top player now you’re thinking, ‘Hang on a second, what’s going on?’. It’s the fact that it’s in the air and we don’t know, so why would players commit.”
