Irreplaceable Rodri 'out for a long time' says Pep Guardiola as Man City progress in League Cup

Chelsea also advance to last 16 after Nkunku scores hat-trick while Aston Villa scrape past Wycombe

Pep Guardiola congratulates his players after Manchester City's 2-1 League Cup win over Watford. AP

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed midfielder Rodri is expected to be injured for a "long time", although the club is awaiting confirmation on the severity of the Spaniard's knee injury.

The 28-year-old Spain international limped off the pitch in the first half of City's 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal on Sunday with what was feared to be a long-term ACL injury. Reports soon circulated that Rodri could be sidelined for the remainder of the season, and Guardiola has now spoken for the first time regarding his player's injury.

Following his side's 2-1 League Cup win over Watford on Tuesday, Guardiola said he still did not know Rodri's exact diagnosis but expected to find out soon.

"Still we don't have the definitive [diagnosis] but he will be out for a long time, a while," Guardiola said. "There are some opinions that it may be less than we expect. Right now I can't tell you.

"We're waiting on the last phone calls from the doctors. What he has and what type of surgery he has to get. We expect that tonight, tomorrow we will know exactly."

Rodri, named the best player at this summer's European Championship as part of Spain's title-winning team, has been key to Guardiola's success at the helm of the Premier League champions.

Since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019, Rodri has played 174 Premier League games for the club and has finished on the losing side only 19 times in that period, with 129 wins.

However, the City manager said the team will find a solution in the absence of an "irreplaceable player. When a team doesn't play with the best midfielder in the world for a long, long time, it is a big blow.

"I will find a solution. There is an alternative, we will do it. When you have one player who is irreplaceable, as a team we have to find a solution."

There was better news on the pitch for City as Jeremy Doku, one of the two to retain his place from the Arsenal draw, fired in the opening goal against Watford from Jack Grealish's pass after five minutes.

Rodri's absence could mean a more prominent role for Matheus Nunes and the Portugal international blasted in his first goal since joining City for £53 million a year ago.

Tom Ince, son of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince, pulled a late goal back for Watford, but it was too little, too late for the Championship side.

Nkunku hat-trick fires Chelsea to victory

Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick as Chelsea thrashed fourth-tier Barrow 5-0 to reach the last 16 of the League Cup.

Nkunku now has six goals in seven appearances this season, but the Frenchman has still been unable to nail down a regular place in Enzo Maresca's side.

Maresca made 11 changes from the team that beat West Ham 3-0 on Saturday but could still start around £400m ($533m) worth of talent.

Joao Felix was another of the Blues' big-money signings to shine. His scooped pass set up Nkunku for opener. Nkunku then flicked home a second before Felix's free-kick hit the post and rebounded in off Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman.

Pedro Neto tapped in Mykhailo Mudryk's cross for his first Chelsea goal. Nkunku sealed his first hat-trick for the club when he dispossessed Farman and rolled into an empty net.

Aston Villa scrape past Wycombe

Aston Villa's second string were pushed by lower-league opposition but Emi Buendia's header and Jhon Duran's penalty were enough to win 2-1 at Wycombe.

Fourth-tier Walsall came closest to an upset as they forced Leicester to penalties after a 0-0 draw. However, the Premier League side won the shoot-out 3-0.

Newcastle's trip to AFC Wimbledon was postponed after a sinkhole appeared on the League Two side's pitch following heavy flooding in London this week

The match has been switched to Newcastle's St. James Park on October 1. Newcastle have contributed £15,000 to a fund to help repair the pitch at Cherry Red Records Stadium.

Manchester United and Tottenham were among the sides to progress to round four last week, while Liverpool take on West Ham and Arsenal host Bolton in the remaining two ties on Wednesday.