Pep Guardiola expects Rodri to be "out for a long time", though Manchester City are still waiting for official confirmation on the extent of the midfielder's injury.
Rodri sustained a serious-looking knee injury during a corner in City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, having turned awkwardly while tiusslinThomas Partey.
The former Atletico Madrid man has since been seen in Barcelona, with reports suggesting that he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
That would possibly keep him out for the season and would be a huge blow to City, for whom he has proven to be a key man since joining in 2019.
Before City's EFL Cup third-round tie with Watford, which they won 2-1 to progress to the next round, Guardiola was unable to offer any updates on his condition.
However, in his post-match interview, Guardiola conceded that he would be without the Spain international for a prolonged period.
"Rodri will be out for a long time, a while," Guardiola said.
"There are some opinions that it will be less than we thought, but 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 should know tomorrow."
Rodri played 50 times for City in all competitions last season, losing just one of those matches.
However, in the nine they played without him, their win percentage dropped from 76% to 55.6%, with their points-per-game dropping from 2.5 to 1.7.
And Guardiola knows the onus will be on him to find a solution.
"When a team doesn't play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow," Guardiola told reporters.
"Yes, he's irreplaceable. But my duty is to 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."
Saint Lucia, Haiti stay perfect in Groups B and C of League B
Saint Lucia and Haiti consolidated their leads atop their respective Concacaf Nations League groups following contrasting wins in their League B encounters on Friday.
Caniggia Elva’s late brace in the 76th and 90th propelled St Lucia to a 2-1 win over Saint Martin, who led for most of the contest courtesy of Axel Raga’s 30th-minute strike in their Group B clash at the Darren Sammy Ground.
The win moved Saint Lucia to maximum nine points from three games. Curacao and Grenada, who played out a goalless stalemate in the other group contest, sit second and third on four points each, while Saint Martin is still yet to get on the board.
Over in Group C, Haiti beat host Aruba 3-1 at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadion.
Tyron Perret Gentil fired Aruba in front in the sixth minute, but Haiti responded through Frantzdy Pierrot (31st), and a brace from Duckens Nazon, who scored from the penalty spot in the 38th, followed by a 61st-minute close range effort.
The win saw Haiti move up to nine points from three games, three points ahead of Sint Maarten, who clipped Puerto Rico 3-2 in the other fixture.
Chovanie Amatkarijo (44th, 85th) and Imar Kort (49th) got the job done for Sint Maarten, while Rodolfo Sulia (2nd) and Alec Diaz (90+5) got Puerto Rico’s goals.
Puerto Rico remain on three points, with Aruba still pointless.
Saka and Jones withdraw from England's Nations League squad
England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday.
Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.
It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month.
Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games.
The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10).
Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment.
Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.
The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.
Vancouver Whitecaps v Los Angeles FC: Sartini hoping to benefit from missing international players
Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini believes the international break will benefit his side ahead of welcoming Los Angeles FC to BC Place this weekend.
The hosts will be without top scorer Ryan Gauld along with Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekugbe, Andres Cubas, Fafa Picault and Pedro Vite as they aim to break into the top seven of the Western Conference and avoid playing in the first round of the playoffs.
However, Sartini believes that this presents an opportunity for his fringe players to step up against one of the better sides in the division, having seen his side fall to back-to-back defeats since clinching their place in the post-season.
“It is very important to win,” Sartini said. “Unfortunately, we did not do well in the last couple of games so now this game has become one where we can get back into the top seven and avoid the first round of the playoffs.
“It’s important to get back to where we have been for the last 30 plus games. We need to reset and good. I think it’s also a good think, I might sound crazy, that we have the international break.
“We have a lot of players that will need to step up and need to be there, so they come perhaps a little fresher and without the bad memories of the last couple of games.”
LAFC, meanwhile, come into the encounter on the back of four consecutive wins in all competitions, including their US Open Cup final triumph.
The Black and Gold know a victory will seal second place in the Western Conference standings after securing a 3-0 away win over Sporting Kansas City, though they too will be without three first-team players for the trip to Vancouver.
“All in all, we’re happy,” head coach Steve Cherundolo said after their last victory. “They were important points for us. A good performance.”
“For us to keep getting these results is huge,” said defender Aaron Long.
“To go as far as we did in Leagues Cup and to go all the way to the end in the Open Cup, and still be fighting for first place in the league is really tough to do.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
In the absence of top scorer Gauld, who is on international duty with Scotland, White will carry Vancouver’s goal threat for the visit of LAFC.
The American has played more games against this weekend’s opponents than any other team he has faced in the MLS (13), winning four of those (D3 L6), while scoring three times.
LAFC – Mateusz Bogusz
Bogusz has 20 goal involvements (14 goals, six assists) in 30 MLS appearances this term, netting a goal against Vancouver in LAFC’s 3-0 win earlier this season.
The Pole, however, has won just one of his three games against Vancouver (D1 L1), and he will be hoping to get his record into positive numbers this time around.
MATCH PREDICTION: LAFC WIN
The hosts are currently on 58 points with two matches left to play this term. They are trying to reach the 60-point mark for the third time in the last six seasons (2019, 2022) while no other MLS team has done so more than once in that time.
Vancouver have lost only two of their last nine regular-season meetings with LAFC (W4 D3), though one of those defeats was a 3-0 loss against the Black and Gold earlier this campaign.
The Whitecaps come into the game on the back of consecutive defeats for the first time since June. They have not lost three straight matches in all competitions since the start of the 2023 season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Vancouver Whitecaps – 29.6%
Draw – 24.8%
LAFC – 45.6%
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