Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic suffered an Achilles injury and has undergone surgery.
The Croatia international will not travel to the Club World Cup, having recently missed the FA Cup final because of injury.
City put out a statement on Monday and said: “Manchester City can confirm that Mateo Kovacic has undergone surgery on an Achilles injury.
“The Croatian midfielder is now set to miss the FIFA Club World Cup as City head to the USA in June.
“Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery.”
It comes after a season where midfield injuries were rife for Pep Guardiola and his side, with Rodri also suffering a long-term injury in September.
The crisis of injuries that damaged City’s 2024-25 campaign has seen Guardiola innovatively sign multiple players including Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez.
There are positives for City however, as Rodri returned to the squad for the club’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on the penultimate day of the Premier League season.
Marmoush, who signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of £59m, won goal of the season in that game when he struck from 30 yards with the ball clipping the crossbar on its way in.
Rodri returned to action against Bournemouth in a 3-1 win (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Rodri returned to action against Bournemouth in a 3-1 win (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
‘A big miss for the Club World Cup’ — how will City shape without Kovacic?
Perhaps what has been most entertaining about this below-standard season for City is the way in which Guardiola has been tested tactically.
Losing Rodri to that anterior cruciate ligament injury was viewed as the biggest dent to the club’s hopes of an unprecedented fifth consecutive title.
But it was also the fact that other superstars were sidelined for a while too, including John Stones, Erling Haaland, Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb.
Fortunately for Guardiola, Stone is the only player who looks to be in doubt for the Club World Cup, which runs from June 15 to July 13.
Ilkay Gundogan will probably be the first-choice replacement for Kovacic, with Gonzalez and Rico Lewis likely to get minutes in the United States too.
It’s thought that Bobb and Rodri will use the post-season tournament as a tool to build match sharpness before pre-season begins just weeks later.
City will be joined by Chelsea as the only two English clubs to be involved - the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will take part from other major European leagues.