[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-manchester-citys-midfield-crisis-rodrigo-de-broyne-back-surgery-recovery":82,"category-counts-nav":95,"related-manchester-citys-midfield-crisis-rodrigo-de-broyne-back-surgery-recovery":105},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":93,"_path":94},"Rodri Sids After Back Surgery, City Faces Midfield Void","manchester-citys-midfield-crisis-rodrigo-de-broyne-back-surgery-recovery","football","Football: Analysis","Sarah Martinez","Manchester City's Rodri undergoes back surgery, sidelining him for rehabilitation and impacting midfield balance.","2026-07-28 12:12:48","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fmanchester-citys-midfield-crisis-rodrigo-de-broyne-back-surgery-recovery.webp",[37,49],"## Rodri faces weeks out after spinal surgery\n\nManchester City midfielder Rodri underwent spinal stabilization surgery on Monday. The club described his recovery window as a \"short period of rehabilitation\" and will conduct a progress check within four weeks.\n\n\"We're confident that Rodri will recover quickly and be back in the fold soon,\" a club representative said.\n\nThe procedure falls two weeks before City's next Premier League match, making Rodri a doubt for the fixture. His absence also touches Champions League scheduling, where City will need an alternative plan for the holding midfield role that Rodri has occupied, shielding the back four and dictating possession.\n\nPep Guardiola has leaned on Rodri to control tempo and break up opposition attacks throughout the season. Without a like-for-like replacement, De Bruyne or Foden could drop into deeper positions, or Guardiola could adjust his formation temporarily. City also face a congested run of matches across two competitions, which will test how Guardiola distributes minutes across his midfield options.\n\nRodri signed a contract extension earlier this year. No doubts surround his long-term future at the club; the concern is purely about match fitness and managing his return to full training after surgery.","\u002Farticles\u002Fmanchester-citys-midfield-crisis-rodrigo-de-broyne-back-surgery-recovery",[96,97,98,99,85,100,101,102,103,104],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[106,119,129],{"id":107,"stem":107,"path":108,"title":109,"category":85,"badge":110,"badgeType":111,"author":112,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":114,"date":115,"readTime":116,"image":117,"imageAlt":109,"tags":9,"excerpt":118},"messi-yamal-prophetic-photo-world-cup-final","\u002Farticles\u002Fmessi-yamal-prophetic-photo-world-cup-final","Messi vs Yamal: The Photo That Foretold a World Cup Final","Feature","category","Marcus Wright","SportPulse Contributor","MW","2026-07-21 03:32:49","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F3b7f\u002Flive\u002F8e51a230-8282-11f1-bb53-6b734700602c.jpg","A baby in Messi's arms becomes his World Cup final opponent. Football's most prophetic photo explained.",{"id":120,"stem":120,"path":121,"title":122,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":111,"author":123,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":124,"date":125,"readTime":126,"image":127,"imageAlt":122,"tags":37,"excerpt":128},"premier-league-title-race-open-season-tactical-shift","\u002Farticles\u002Fpremier-league-title-race-open-season-tactical-shift","Three New Managers, Record Spending, and an Open Title Race","Elena Rossi","ER","2026-08-02 00:55:17","2 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fpremier-league-title-race-open-season-tactical-shift.webp","The Premier League's structural landscape has shifted enough to fracture the traditional hierarchy and hand challengers a real shot.",{"id":130,"stem":130,"path":131,"title":132,"category":85,"badge":133,"badgeType":134,"author":87,"authorRole":135,"authorInitials":136,"date":137,"readTime":138,"image":139,"imageAlt":132,"tags":140,"excerpt":141},"shivam-dube-harry-brook-southampton-fielding-moment","\u002Farticles\u002Fshivam-dube-harry-brook-southampton-fielding-moment","Dube's Southampton Horrorscape: The Catch That Defined England's T20 Surge","Match Report","tag","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-12 01:17:07","6 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fshivam-dube-harry-brook-southampton-fielding-moment.webp","England T20, India T20, Cricket","Shivam Dube's comical misjudgment of Harry Brook at Southampton exposes India's fielding collapse in the T20 series finale."]