Pep Guardiola has said he believes Manchester City 's current defensive issues are partly down to missing "irreplaceable" Rodri and revealed his team will likely have to do without the midfielder for at least a few more weeks.

Rodri has only been able to play one minute in the last two months because of a hamstring injury suffered in the win over Brentford on Oct. 5.

The Spain international, who suffered a knee ligament injury more than a year ago, is set to miss Sunderland 's visit to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and the trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Guardiola is desperate to have the 29-year-old back and he pointed to Tuesday's chaotic 5-4 win over Fulham , when City were pegged back from 5-1 up, as an example of how much his team are missin

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