Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed midfielder Rodri is expected to be injured for a "long time", although the club is awaiting confirmation on the severity of the Spaniard's knee injury.
The 28-year-old Spain international limped off the pitch in the first half of City's 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal on Sunday with what was feared to be a long-term ACL injury. Reports soon circulated that Rodri could be sidelined for the remainder of the season, and Guardiola has now spoken for the first time regarding his player's injury.
Following his side's 2-1 League Cup win over Watford on Tuesday, Guardiola said he still did not know Rodri's exact diagnosis but expected to find out soon.
"Still we don't have the definitive [diagnosis] but he will be out for a long time, a while," Guardiola said. "There are some opinions that it may be less than we expect. Right now I can't tell you.
"We're waiting on the last phone calls from the doctors. What he has and what type of surgery he has to get. We expect that tonight, tomorrow we will know exactly."
Rodri, named the best player at this summer's European Championship as part of Spain's title-winning team, has been key to Guardiola's success at the helm of the Premier League champions.
Since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019, Rodri has played 174 Premier League games for the club and has finished on the losing side only 19 times in that period, with 129 wins.
However, the City manager said the team will find a solution in the absence of an "irreplaceable player. When a team doesn't play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow.
"I will find a solution. There is an alternative, we will do it. When you have one player who is irreplaceable, as a team we have to find a solution."
There was better news on the pitch for City as Jeremy Doku, one of the two to retain his place from the Arsenal draw, fired in the opening goal against Watford from Jack Grealish's pass after five minutes.
Rodri's absence could mean a more prominent role for Matheus Nunes and the Portugal international blasted in his first goal since joining City for £53 million a year ago.
Tom Ince, son of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince, pulled a late goal back for Watford, but it was too little, too late for the Championship side.
Nkunku hat-trick fires Chelsea to victory
Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick as Chelsea thrashed fourth-tier Barrow 5-0 to reach the last 16 of the League Cup.
Nkunku now has six goals in seven appearances this season, but the Frenchman has still been unable to nail down a regular place in Enzo Maresca's side.
Maresca made 11 changes from the team that beat West Ham 3-0 on Saturday but could still start around £400m ($533m) worth of talent.
Joao Felix was another of the Blues' big-money signings to shine. His scooped pass set up Nkunku for opener. Nkunku then flicked home a second before Felix's free-kick hit the post and rebounded in off Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman.
Pedro Neto tapped in Mykhailo Mudryk's cross for his first Chelsea goal. Nkunku sealed his first hat-trick for the club when he dispossessed Farman and rolled into an empty net.
Aston Villa scrape past Wycombe
Aston Villa's second string were pushed by lower-league opposition but Emi Buendia's header and Jhon Duran's penalty were enough to win 2-1 at Wycombe.
Fourth-tier Walsall came closest to an upset as they forced Leicester to penalties after a 0-0 draw. However, the Premier League side won the shoot-out 3-0.
Newcastle's trip to AFC Wimbledon was postponed after a sinkhole appeared on the League Two side's pitch following heavy flooding in London this week
The match has been switched to Newcastle's St. James Park on October 1. Newcastle have contributed £15,000 to a fund to help repair the pitch at Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Manchester United and Tottenham were among the sides to progress to round four last week, while Liverpool take on West Ham and Arsenal host Bolton in the remaining two ties on Wednesday.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
More on Quran memorisation:
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More coverage from the Future Forum
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
