Manchester City's title bid has been dealt a huge blow with the news of Rodri's season-ending injury, leaving Pep Guardiola with the conundrum of who will replace the Spaniard.
Rodri's absence is the one player City have struggled without in the past, but former captain Richard Dunne believes the answer may lie in one of their versatile young stars.
“Rico Lewis has already proven that he can play in Rodri’s place,” Dunne told BetVictor.
“He’s been very good this season and has been one of City’s key players. He obviously can’t do the exact same job to the same effect as Rodri, but he can do a slightly different job equally well. He’s a superb player who can operate in several different roles.
“Rodri is obviously still a big loss and the stats show they’re worse off without him, but the more the players get used to him not being there, the more the stats will start to even themselves out.
"They’ve got too much quality to just rely on one player, regardless of how good he is. In a couple of weeks’ time, they’ll have worked it out and will be as strong as ever.”
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Dunne also commented on Erling Haaland's incredible start to the season. The Norweigan has already scored ten Premier League goals this season, and the former defender says he could end up breaking the ultimate record if he carries on scoring at his current rate.
“If he plays enough games, Erling Haaland will without a doubt break Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record,” he added.
"The way he’s playing at the moment, he’ll break every record going in England. He’s already scored 10 goals in the league this season and you’d expect him to probably reach 20 by Christmas. The numbers we’re talking about with him are incredible.
“You never want to assume anything, but he’ll likely be thinking that he should be getting 40 league goals this season. He looks sharp and he looks as though he’s enjoyed the summer off while a lot of other players were at the Euros. He’s the difference between City and everyone else; he’s the best striker in the world.”
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