Kovacic, Lewis, Stones? How Manchester City replace injured Rodri

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Manchester City appear to have suffered a major blow with Rodri set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury against Arsenal.

The midfielder was substituted in the first half of the clash of Premier League rivals at the Etihad Stadium, with the club confirming that he has suffered ligament damage.

It is an injury that may render the 28-year-old unavailable for the rest of the campaign, leaving Pep Guardiola without his key midfield fulcrum.

While the Manchester City manager often rotates elsewhere, Rodri is firmly established as a vital figure at the base of midfield and rarely misses the club’s biggest games.

But an expensively-assembled squad does provide Guardiola with a number of alternative options as he looks to replace the Spaniard:

Croatian midfielder Kovacic replaced Rodri during the draw with Arsenal and, while not a like-for-like alternative, possesses the tactical discipline and experience Guardiola favours in his deeper midfielders. The former Real Madrid and Chelsea man arrived at Manchester City last summer and featured in 30 Premier League games - but only 16 times as a starter. Were he to replace Rodri, it may also mean a different role for...

Brought back to the club he used to captain after a single season at Barcelona, Gundogan’s ability to fulfil a variety of duties in midfield is of value to his manager. With Rodri given time to work his way back in at the start of the season, the German operated alongside Kovacic as a deeper-lying pair in Manchester City’s first few fixtures. It is a partnership that Guardiola is likely to revisit.

A more radical option of replacing Rodri might be to move young full-back Lewis into a more central role. The 19-year-old regularly steps inside and up as an inverting right-back when used by Guardiola in the starting side, showing a calmness in possession and cunningness of pass that has also earned international honours. He and Rodri started together in last season’s Club World Cup final.

Like Lewis, Stones has shown real comfort in stepping up into midfield to provide an extra body in midfield for Manchester City in possession. Long-talked about as an option further forward due to his ability on the ball, Stones’ qualities perhaps mesh best with Rodri’s strengths. Whether Guardiola would be willing to sacrifice the tactical advantages he enjoys when Stones is at centre-back is a question, but were Lewis, say, at right-back, his fellow England international could perhaps take on Rodri’s role as the primary midfield metronome.

In many ways the forgotten man in Manchester City’s midfield mix, Nunes nonetheless highlighted his qualities with an impressive performance and a first goal for the club in the Carabao Cup win over Watford. The former Wolves creator is perhaps better suited to a more advanced position, but a man once described by Pep Guardiola (somewhat strangely) as “one of the best players in the world” will be keen to force his way into the first-team picture with greater regularity this season.