Man City already have seven Rodri replacements to meet Pep Guardiola challenge

"We don't want it," said Pep Guardiola. “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. I expect a lot from my players and I have a duty to find a solution even if Rodri is irreplaceable."

So now the reality has set in that Rodri will be absent for a long time but City cannot feel sorry for themselves as Guardiola said on Tuesday. They must find a way to win the Premier League without him.

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Guardiola is right when he says Rodri is irreplaceable, and City would be foolish to try and let one player directly fill his role at the base of midfield. It hasn't worked in the past and no player in the squad can do what Rodri does. The most likely way forward is to ask combinations of players to patrol the base of midfield and cover as many of his roles and responsibilities between them.

Mateo Kovacic is the most obvious player to take on most of those responsibilities - but he has admitted he doesn't want to play in defensive midfield on his own. He feels he plays better with a partner, and has featured alongside Nico O'Reilly, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis so far this season while Rodri took time to get fit.

In fact, Rodri has played just 66 minutes of Premier League action this term, with his only 90 minute outing coming in the Champions League. He has played just 14 per cent of their games since