“Rodri is irreplaceable”

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente lamented Saturday the serious injury suffered by Manchester City midfielder and national team captain Rodri Hernandez, because he is an “irreplaceable” player on the pitch.

“For me he is the best player in the world in his position, as well as a great captain. It is a huge loss, but we are fortunate to have the second best player in that position, who is Martin Zubimendi,” the national coach told reporters before receiving the Gold Medal of the Galician Federation, in Pontevedra.

The midfielder underwent surgery on Friday in Madrid by Dr. Manuel Leyes on the serious knee injury suffered in the match against Arsenal, which will force him to miss the rest of the season.

“We have to find a balance between the number of matches to be played and the health of the players. For the good of football it would be important to reach an agreement to achieve that balance,” he responded when questioned about the possibility of players calling a strike due to the load of matches.

“In the Spanish Federation we always take care and prioritise the health of football, and now we are seeing that unfortunately many injuries are occurring, that of Rodri one of them. From here he sent him a strong arm, let's hope he recovers soon,” he added.