Man City to immediately benefit from 'masterstroke' transfer completed this summer

Micah Richards has claimed Ilkay Gundogan is the solution to Manchester City's woes in midfield during Rodri's absence.

After Rodri went down injured in the heated 2-2 clash with Arsenal, Pep Guardiola confirmed that he would be out for some time. The City boss said: "Still we don't have the definitive [diagnosis] but he will be out for a long time - a while. But there are some opinions that maybe it will be less than we expected.

"We are waiting for the last phone calls from him and the doctors for what definitely he has and the type of surgery he has to get. We expect that tonight, tomorrow we will know exactly."

As fans fret over the potential gap in the squad, with Rodri currently expected to miss the rest of the season, ex-City defender Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast that Gundogan's return could be a strategic stroke of genius.

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He said: "Yeah, it's staggering, he's the best holding midfielder in world football and I think we all agree on that. I think it's been a little bit of a masterstroke getting Gundogan back in, and obviously they didn't know Rodri was going to get injured.

"But people forget, they've still got Matheus Nunes who they got from Wolves, he's a very good player. But in terms of assisting the way that Man City want to play on the ball and the way they dictate play, Nunes is not stepped up enough yet, you know, with the games he's been given, and it's been difficult."

Richards also highlighted just how crucial Rodri is to the City setup and confessed his dismay over the star midfielder's injury.

He added: "But now, we know Rodri can play in a 6, he can play in an 8, he can play in the number 10, but it's a huge miss. And it's not just his stature, it's not just his passing, he knows the tactical plan, he controls the tempo of football matches and not a lot of players can do that.

"If you see where he receives the ball, just when you think the opposing team is pressing, and they're going to get the ball, Rodri just somehow manages to wiggle his way out and starts an attack for Man City and they get out. So yeah I'm absolutely devastated for him."

After confirmation of Rodri's injury was made public, City also noted that the midfielder had travelled to Spain for more advice following his initial tests. They added: "Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis. Everyone at the Club wishes him a speedy recovery."

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