“We miss him very much” – Mateo Kovacic sends a message to Rodri after Manchester City beat Fulham 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium

Mateo Kovacic is the latest Manchester City star to send a personal message to Rodri, who is out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Pep Guardiola's players once again had to come from behind to take all three points and avoided a late scare against Fulham on Saturday afternoon as Marco Silva's side put in a strong performance away from home.

Andreas Pereira opened the scoring for the visitors on a counterattack and was one of several signs of danger for the hosts when he converted from close range after a sensational backheel cross from Raul Jimenez.

A brace from Mateo Kovacic either side of half-time would give Manchester City the lead before Jeremy Doku scored a crucial goal late on from the edge of the box to secure all the points despite a Rodrigo Muniz strike.

After Manchester City's last game and victory over Fulham before the international break, the scorer of two goals against the Cottagers wanted to highlight the challenge of replacing Rodri.

“I'm playing there at the moment, so I have to represent Rodri,” said Mateo Kovacic. “We miss him a lot, I think every team would miss a player like Rodri.”

The Croatian continued to send a message to the Ballon d'Or contender: “We wish him a speedy recovery and that he gets back in good shape as soon as possible.” But for now we have to adapt and the manager certainly has plenty of options , so we can rotate.

“We play every three days and every game is tough. It's not easy and we have to adapt to the schedule. It is what it is. We have to be at our best every day.”

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