Pep Guardiola confirms crushing Rodri injury blow as Man City pin hopes on final tests

Manchester City are waiting for final tests to confirm how long Rodri will be out for, with Pep Guardiola revealing there is some confusion among doctors over the extent of his knee injury.

However, the influential midfielder will require surgery and will be out for a 'long time', Guardiola has confirmed. Rodri was injured early in City's win over Arsenal on Sunday, twisting his knee as he prepared to attack a corner.

Guardiola said Rodri will be a huge miss for City - but vowed to find a solution just like they did when Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were sidelined last season.

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“Still we don’t have the definitive (diagnosis) but he will be out for a long time, a while,” Guardiola said, before offering hope on a shorter layoff than initially feared. “But there are some opinions that maybe it will be less than we expected.

"Unfortunately, he was injured, but right now I couldn’t tell you. We are waiting for the last phone calls from him and the doctors for what definitely he has and the type of surgery he has to get.

“He’s okay. He's strong, sad of course, and waiting for the final decision of what he has to do. We don’t want it, but we will (still) have a good season."

Guardiola views Rodri as irreplaceable and reiterated his belief that he is the best midfielder in the world - but the City chief insisted he is up for the challenge of finding a system that covers the absence of the Spaniard, even if it will take more than one player.

“I expect a lot from my players and I have a duty to find a solution - even if Rodri is irreplaceable," he said. “When a team doesn’t play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow.

“But it’s football. It happens. And it is my duty to find a solution, be competitive as we have been for many, many years and be there, be a problem for our opponents.

“Yes, he’s irreplaceable. But I will find a solution. There is an alternative, we will do it. When you have one player who is irreplaceable, as a team we have to find a solution. Last season, we were three months without Erling, five months without Kevin and we found solutions.”