Manchester City clinched a first-ever FIFA Club World Cup title as they stormed to a 4-0 final win over Brazilian side Fluminense.
Victory in Jeddah means Pep Guardiola is now the most successful coach in the competition’s history with four titles, spread across his time at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now City.
Julian Alvarez’s double wrapped up a dominant night for Guardiola’s dominant team but Rodri’s injury could have potentially caused a problem for the new world champions.
Guardiola opted to bring the Spain international off in the closing stages after he suffered a knee injury from a bad tackle by Fluminense’s Alexander. It looked at the time as though he was in particular discomfort.
Rodri has missed four games due to suspension this season — three in the Premier League, one in the Carabao Cup — and City lost all of them, so any potential absence is regarded as a serious concern to their chances of a fourth consecutive league title. However, the player himself moved to calm fears following the Club World Cup.
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Rodri injury latest on Man City star
Concern over Rodri was immediate for Guardiola, and his City teammates, despite the former Atletico Madrid star playing on for a few minutes after the initial injury.
After going down again in pain, Guardiola substituted him, with Rodri able to walk off the pitch despite his discomfort.
The City medical team will assess him in Jeddah, with further tests likely when the squad land back in Manchester.
He was able to join in the trophy lift and celebrations, and the 27-year-old is confident he suffered no lasting damage, insisting he will be “fine” to face Everton in City’s next league game on December 27.
🔵🇪🇸 Rodri: “I almost cried after the tackle but I’m fine. I will be fine to play vs Everton, no issues”, told @SkyKaveh. pic.twitter.com/IECKMj7PXm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 22, 2023
Man City record without Rodri in 2023/24
Rodri’s red card against Nottingham Forest on September 23 saw him handed a three-game ban, which included two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup.
With no Rodri in the team, City were knocked out of the cup competition at the Third Round stage by Newcastle United. That was followed up by back-to-back Premier League losses at Wolves and Arsenal.
Rodri also missed the 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa on December 6 after accruing a suspension due to five yellow cards in Premier League action.
Since signing for Man City from Atletico Madrid in July 2019, Rodri has been a pivotal part of their success under Guardiola. In that time, they have won 73 per cent of Premier League games when Rodri has played, compared to just 52.9 per cent without him.
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