Rodri instantly clutched his knee in agony after a bad foul from Alexsander (Photo: Reuters)
Rodri says he will be fit for Manchester City’s next game after limping off the pitch during the Club World Cup final on Friday.
City won their fifth trophy of 2023 by thrashing Brazil side Fluminense 4-0 in Saudi Arabia, thanks to a brace from Julian Alvarez, a Phil Foden strike and an own-goal off Nino.
It completes the best year in the club’s history that has also seen them win the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, as well as the UEFA Super Cup.
However, the mood was slightly dampened by the sight of Rodri hobbling off the pitch in the 74th minute.
The defensive midfielder was caught on the ankle by Alexsander and looked to be in considerable pain, before heading over to the touchline.
He carried on playing for the next few minutes but went down again, covering his face with his hands as his teammates went over to comfort him, before finally coming off for Manuel Akanji.
Post-match, the 27-year-old was named Player of the Tournament and appeared to walking okay as he went up to collect the Gold Ball, before looking full of spirits as he took part in the celebrations.
Rodri seemed okay as he collected the Gold Ball (Photo: Getty)
An injury to Rodri would be good news for City’s Premier League title rivals – Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Vill and Tottenham – with City back in action on the 27th December when they travel to Everton.
It was later reported that Rodri left the stadium with strapping around his right knee, but according to Sky Sports the player himself says he is fine.
‘I almost cried after the tackle but I’m fine. I will be fine to play vs Everton, no issues,’ he is reported to have told Sky reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
Additionally, he said that the tackle was one of the worst he’s experienced in his career.
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‘I didn’t speak, it looks from his face it’s good, it was a scare, the action was really tough, we’ll see in the next days how he reacts,’ Guardiola added when asked about how his player was.
Perhaps even more than Erling Haaland, Rodri is City’s key player whom they struggle to live without, with the Spainard arguably the best in his position in the world.
The Citizens only have a short injury list but it’s full of key players, namely Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku.
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