Manchester City star midfielder Rodri was fighting back tears after suffering a concerning injury in his side’s Premier League contest with Arsenal.
The 28-year-old attempted to get on the end of a corner and jostled with Thomas Partey, before going down and appeared in distress while sat on the turf as he clutched his knee, with his loud yelp in pain picked up by the pitchside microphones.
A stretcher was prepared for the Spain international to leave the pitch, but he walked off in aid of the physio, replaced by Mateo Kovacic.
VAR did check the collision between Rodri and Partey, but deemed the Ghanaian not guilty of any infringement and play was later resumed, with hosts City in the lead but without their influential metronome.
He returned to the starting lineup after an extended rest, following his excursions at Euro 2024, and watched on as a brilliant turn by Savinho created an attack for Erling Haaland who poked the ball past David Raya for the opening goal.
However, with Rodri off the pitch, Arsenal took a quick free-kick and Riccardo Calafiori curled an effort from outside the box to leave the Etihad up in arms.
Kyle Walker was dragged out of position by referee Anthony Taylor for a conversation before play restarted, prompting Pep Guardiola to kick his chair in frustration.
Rodri, who played 64 times for club and country last season, has led calls for a change to the football calendar in order to protect the welfare of the players.
He even warned that top professionals could go on strike in order to force necessary change: “I think we are close to that, it is easy to understand. I think it’s something general.
“I think if you ask any player he will say the same, it is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option, I really think but let’s see.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.”
Rodri’s comments only hold greater weight after such a durable player picked up an injury, with City fearing the worst that he could miss a sizable portion of the season.
Guardiola does not have a like-for-like replacement in the squad, with Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis the options to step in for Rodri if he is sidelined.
