Rodri out for the season: Seven times injuries made the Premier League title race more interesting
Manchester City got 66 Premier League minutes out of Rodri before his knee gave up on him. The Spaniard is out for the season and that will have a big impact on the title race, with Arsenal and Liverpool looking to end City’s dominance under Pep Guardiola.
This is not the first time a key player has suffered an injury that has impacted the title race. Including Rodri and a Man City teammate, here are seven examples.
Rodri – Manchester City (2024/25)
There is no denying that Rodri’s season-ending injury will greatly impact the 2024/25 Premier League title race. Manchester City will no doubt find their groove at the stage of the season they always do but it could be too late by then if Pep Guardiola doesn’t quickly mastermind how to live without his key Spanish midfield general.
Rodri, not Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne, is City’s most important player. Their record without him is nowhere near as imperious as it is with him, as emphasised last season when unavailable through suspension.
An early-season red card saw him miss trips to Wolves and Arsenal, both of which the Citizens lost. Another ban saw him miss a tough test at Aston Villa, which the Citizens again lost. It’s concerning for City, sure, but thankfully they do have the best manager in the world there to find a fix.
No club will be celebrating injuries to a rival player but Arsenal will be licking their lips at the prospect of a Rodri-less Man City. As will Liverpool, whose start to the season suggests they intend to be alongside City and Arsenal for the ride.
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City (2023/24)
Man City missed Kevin De Bruyne for the first half of last season, and that gave Arsenal the chance to take advantage. Mikel Arteta will probably wish that they capitalised a bit better considering a near-perfect second half to the season was not enough after dropping silly points to Fulham (twice) before the trip to Dubai for some warm-weather training.
De Bruyne’s injury did at least make things a lot more interesting, and forced City to match Arsenal’s ridiculous run-in form, winning another league title after the Gunners’ slipped up at home to Aston Villa.
The Belgian maestro has had his fair share of injuries during his time at the Etihad and with Rodri out, Guardiola will be praying he does not pick up another serious one.
William Saliba – Arsenal (2022/23)
After failing to finish in the top four, nobody took Arsenal seriously in terms of the title race ahead of 22/23. The Londoners spent a lot of money in the summer, bringing in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from reigning champions Man City. It is safe to say that Guardiola would not have sold those two to the Gunners if he thought they’d propel them into championship contention.
Another player who made their Arsenal debut that season was William Saliba, who came into the side to partner Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back after loan spells at Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille. There was lots of speculation over his future at the club but Arteta made him a key player in August 2022 and has never looked back.
Saliba was outstanding but got injured in mid-March in a Europa League tie at home to Sporting. This led to Arsenal’s remarkable capitulation in the title race, allowing Man City to topple them, being called bottlers in the process.
Arsenal lost so much with Saliba absent. Replacing him in the starting XI with Rob Holding was a fatal downgrade and the run-in was an incredibly difficult watch for the club’s supporters.
Saliba played every minute in the Premier League in 23/24 and Arsenal took the title race down to the last kick. With Rodri out, this could be their year.
MORE ON ARSENAL FROM F365
👉 Arsenal conspiracy distracts from how they ‘have not been good enough’ – and Fernandes ‘problem’ emerges
👉 Roy Keane likens Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal tactics to four Premier League ‘dinosaurs’
Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld – Tottenham (2016/17)
Tottenham were third, four points off first, when Harry Kane got injured; they dropped down to fifth in the time the England captain was out. It was early in the season so the table position was not too important, but Tottenham only scored six goals in the six games their talisman was out. It showed how reliant they were.
Because Kane was absent at a similar time to Toby Alderweireld, it was all about the striker and not the defender, who missed six games between October and December. In those six matches, Spurs only won twice, dropping points against Arsenal, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Leicester City.
Alderweireld’s importance was again evident in the Champions League, with Spurs drawing one and losing two in his absence.
Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard – Liverpool (2008/09)
After a silly 07/08 campaign for Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, there were high hopes that the sensational pair could fire Liverpool to their first Premier League title. That was not to be, though it was admirable that the Reds put in such a stellar title challenge having only played Torres and Gerrard together 14 times in the league, winning 11 and drawing the other three.
Liverpool only lost twice all season, finishing second with 86 points, trailing champions Manchester United by four points. And that is a fact.
Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires – Arsenal (2002/03)
Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at home to title rivals Manchester United with five games remaining had huge repercussions on the title race, not just because of the points dropped at home by Arsene Wenger’s men. Sol Campbell got suspended for an elbow on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Patrick Vieira sustained a season-ending knee injury.
This game was played on April 16 and Arsenal had an eight-point lead at the top of the table on March 2. By the time the Red Devils left Highbury with a crucial point, it was their title to lose.
Without Vieira, the Gunners would surrender a two-goal lead to draw at Bolton and then surprisingly lost 3-2 at home to Leeds United, in a famous victory for the visitors that saved them from relegation. Winning 6-1 and 4-0 in their final two matches was not enough and United were crowned champions again, ultimately winning the title by those five points Arsenal dropped against Bolton and Leeds without their captain.
Robert Pires also missed the first 10 league games in 02/03 and Arsenal won all of their home games without him, but drew two and lost one of their five away from Highbury. Arsenal badly missed their French duo.
Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs – Manchester United (1997/98)
Manchester United lost the Premier League title to Arsenal by one point in 1998 but it could have been so different had Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane stayed fit.
Giggs played 29 times in the Premier League that season and United only won four of the nine that the Welshman missed, including a three-game winless run in March.
None of Giggs’ injuries were serious but Keane had one big one, limiting him to only 11 appearances across all competitions in 97/98. The Red Devils coped as well as anyone could expect, initially at least. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side regained top spot within a month of Keane doing his ACL and they retained their position at the summit until mid-April, by which time they had squandered an 11-point lead to Arsenal, thanks in no small part to winning only five of 13 matches after New Year.
Arsenal chased them down very well, granted, but you can’t imagine that Keane would have allowed that to happen had he been on the pitch.
