Rodri injury: Man City and Spain superstar injures anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to be out for a long time of the season

It's the news Manchester City have been dreading. Rodri has torn his cruciate ligament. According to CBS Sports sources, perhaps the most important player in Pep Guardiola's team will be out for much of the season.

The Spain international collided with Thomas Partey in the 15th minute of Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday and quickly fell to the ground after landing awkwardly on his right knee. Unable to continue, Rodri was immediately replaced by Mateo Kovacic. Although he remained at the Etihad Stadium for the remainder of a dramatic match, he underwent tests in Spain soon after, revealing the news that will come as a huge blow to Pep Guardiola's side.

It seems almost superficial to discuss how City might replace Rodri. There's a reason why a defensive midfielder (even if such categorisation severely understates his qualities) is a compelling candidate for the Ballon d'Or. Even Guardiola, who doesn't normally like to talk about awards, made the case for that very award after the Arsenal draw, calling him the best defensive midfielder in the world.

Rodri offers City everything. No one in their team, perhaps any team, passes the ball more often, more accurately or more progressively. His dominance in tackles allows the players in front of him to push forward with and without the ball, knowing that if the opposition breaks through City's first line, they won't get through the second. And then there are the goals, which always seem to come at the most crucial moments. Cup final winner, title contender: that's Rodri's trademark.

Even his brief absences are deeply felt. Since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019, Rodri has lost 11 percent of the games he has played in City's colours. When he watches from the sidelines, his team loses 24 percent of their games. If this trend continues in the coming months, City will need the support of Arsenal and Liverpool to win five Premier League titles in a row.

Within the City squad, Kovacic seems to be the natural choice to move into the fray, as he has already impressively demonstrated at the start of the season. Al-Nassr's hopes of signing the Croatian in January have undoubtedly suffered a severe setback. The Croatian international is 30, however, and has had a lot of muscle problems in recent years. Ilkay Gündogan, John Stones, perhaps even Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva could also claim some of Rodri's minutes. No one could do it better than the man they are replacing.

City have struggled with injury storms before. Kevin De Bruyne played in less than half of their Premier League games last season; Erling Haaland also struggled then. Rodri, on the other hand, has been a constant, giving them around 4,000 minutes of quality performance in perhaps their team's most important position. Guardiola is the best manager of his generation because he finds solutions to his team's biggest problems that no one else has. In this case, however, there may be nothing he can do.