After their fiery 2-2 draw against Arsenal, Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways against Watford.
The Premier League champions have been afforded a one-day rest before hosting the Championship side at the Etihad Stadium in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup.
Manchester City could make several changes to the side that started against Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola will likely do so to avoid any of his key players picking up needless injuries.
On Saturday, City have to travel to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United as well — emphasising the need to rest players for them.
Manchester City are already set to lose Rodri for the rest of the season after he picked up a brutal ACL injury against Arsenal; a seismic blow to their hopes of winning a fifth successive league title.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
O’Hara shares his honest verdict on what’s happened to Man City star
As a result, if the Sky Blues are dealt with another player being sidelined through a serious injury, their season could well and truly be derailed.
A worrying statistic emerged about Rodri which showcased that Manchester City have lost just once in the last 76 games with him being in the side.
- READ MORE: Three Man City players who could replace Rodri after he’s ruled out for the season with injury
Such a statistic is factual evidence of the £62.5 million man’s importance to his team.
Several Manchester City fans have reacted to Rodri’s injury by admitting that their team could be in serious trouble this campaign.
Now, Jamie O’Hara has chimed in on X by having his say on how the Spaniard is one of the many players in today’s day and age who is playing an excessive number of games.
“Rodri out for season, no protection for players anymore, body’s getting crushed to bits, he was never recovered from last season, gutted for him, something has to stop, you can’t expect these men to perform at this level continuously without breaking down.”
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is another high-profile name who has suffered a serious injury in recent days, as confirmed by the club on X.
It is not good for football that players like Rodri are getting such injuries
Ultimately, the best players in the world in particular like Rodri are playing far too much football.
It is surprising that the 28-year-old has been as durable as he has until this point.
Next year, a 32-team FIFA Club World Cup could further exacerbate such injury woes.
It is a shame for football that one of its best players will be unable to display his talents this season.
The hope remains that Rodri recovers well and returns as the same player he is.
But solutions must be found to ensure that players’ well-being is being prioritised over other aspects of the sport.
