Manchester City have had a strong start to their latest Premier League campaign.
With five matches played, City have won four and drawn one, scoring 13 goals and conceding five along the way.
This has put Pep Guardiola’s side at the top of the league table with 13 points in the early stages of their hunt to win a fifth consecutive Premier League trophy.
However, the Blues have been hit with some injury issues over the past two months. For example, players such as Oscar Bobb, Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake have picked up injuries that have caused them to miss games.
Another more recent injury blow City have been handed is with Rodri, who was forced off the pitch in the first half of last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium with a suspected knee injury.
It was then reported that Rodri had damaged his ACL and would be out until the end of the season.
Now though, one pundit has shared his thoughts on the situation and what sort of effect it could have on City as a result.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Danny Murphy makes Man City claim after Rodri injury blow
When asked in a recent video shared on the talkSPORT YouTube channel how Rodri’s injury could impact City going forward, Danny Murphy said this on the matter.
He said: “It’s definitely a blow, because he is, especially in big games, he’s always the best player.
“He’s the best in that position in the world. And when you lose that and when you replace it with anyone else, they’re lesser.
“So, in the big games especially it will become more evident.
“The numbers show you that, it’s not even your eyes, the numbers show you they lose when he doesn’t play, more often [than not]. So, it’s a huge blow for him, I feel for him.”
City will miss Rodri’s influence on the pitch
Murphy isn’t the only pundit to highlight how much of a blow this injury news will be for the Blues, as Paul Merson recently said that Rodri will be “sorely missed” by City because of how he “knits everything together” on the pitch.
Looking back over the previous Premier League campaign, Rodri showed how influential and effective he can be for the team on and off the ball.
For example, in addition to making more progressive passes (376) than any other player in the entire league, the midfielder ended the campaign with the highest number of shot-creating actions (157) in the City squad.
Then in terms of his defensive output, Rodri won more tackles (43) than any of his teammates.
So having taken away a player who can be just as effective in possession as well as out of it, it’s understandable why Murphy thinks City will miss the Spaniard in their big games this season.
