'It is a problem' - Guardiola on Rodri

Sometimes it is difficult to follow Pep Guardiola's press conferences.

His answers can be long and detailed, and often go off at tangents, almost as if he is thinking of something else before he has finished with dealing with the matter in hand.

You can have to read through his words, or listen to them, again to see what he actually means or to check in case you have missed something.

It was a bit like that on Tuesday night.

We already knew Rodri was going to be out for quite a while. It is clear he is an influential figure in Manchester City's side.

The really important bit now is what will Guardiola do about it.

He began his answer by talking about opponents not rolling out the red carpet and wearing their best dresses, he finished it by saying he could not play the way Mikel Arteta did at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

But in the middle was the key point.

"Rodri not [being] here [is] a problem," he said. "But complain?

"This is the challenge.

"It is a problem. A big one. But a pity? Absolutely not.

"We go to Newcastle, try to win and do what we have done for many years. It is as simple as that."