Manchester City are still trying to work out how best to cover the absence of injured midfielder Rodri.
The Spaniard has been ruled out for the rest of the season, after suffering an ACL injury earlier in the campaign.
Rodri said earlier this week that he is targeting a return for Man City before the end of the season, but it remains to be seen if that will come to pass.
Either way, the 28-year-old will be missing for some time, and so far Manchester City have struggled to cope with his unavailability.
On Saturday, City lost their fourth game in a row against Brighton, and it was another case of the team just not having control, and the midfield getting bypassed. Micah Richards claimed Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis were out of position.
Marc Cucurella, who knows Rodri well from the Spain squad, has been speaking about the City linchpin and believes people still don’t realise something about him.
Cucurella claims people don’t know what Rodri has until he doesn’t play
We have seen how important Rodri has become to Manchester City over the past few years.
Since the start of the Treble-winning season, he has taken his game to new levels – and Rodri’s recent Ballon d’Or win was totally deserved.
Last term, Rodri picked up a suspension after getting a red card against Nottingham Forest, and City lost every game he was unavailable for.
This season we have again been seeing City struggle in his absence, and Cucurella really does believe in the old adage ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ when it comes to Rodri.
Speaking about how he would have voted in the Ballon d’Or, the Chelsea full-back said on Spanish radio station Onda Cero: “My Ballon d’Or votes would have been: Rodri, Carvajal and Vinicius”.
“People don’t know what he has until he’s not there and you start training with Rodri and he controls everything. Now City don’t have him and they keep losing games.”
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Man City miss Rodri
It is now undeniable that City are considerably weaker without Rodri – and the proof is in the pudding.
Since the start of the 2022/23 season, City have won 78% of their games when Rodri has played (via 90min).
When he hasn’t played, that figure drops to just 57%.
Rodri’s reputation has been growing and growing in recent times and it’s to the point now where neutral fans now realise how vital he is to the City team.
The £63 million man is just a colossus in the midfield with the way he is able to perform all facets to the highest standard. He controls the flow of games, provides solid protection for the defence, and even contributes in the final third.
When you lose a player who does all that, you are doubtless going to feel it in a big way.
