Phil Hay has explained why Rodrigo missed Leeds United's 2-1 win at Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

As per a tweet from The Athletic journalist, the former Valencia ace 'had an issue in training', with Marcelo Bielsa not saying how serious it was in his post-game press conference after the match.

It turns out that Leeds did not need him at the Etihad Stadium as the Whites grabbed all three points thanks to two goals from Stuart Dallas, with a red card for captain Liam Cooper and a Ferran Torres equaliser for Pep Guardiola's men sandwiched in between the 29-year-old's brace.

Leeds still miss Rodrigo

Even though the win was very impressive without Rodrigo, Leeds still miss the Spain international and are a better team with him in it.

Despite the result against Man City, Bielsa's side have actually lost more games in the top flight this season without the Spaniard in the side (six) than with him (four) in total (Transfermarkt), illustrating the influence that he can exert.

Nonetheless, the 30-year-old is a great squad player to have given that he can play both in midfield and up top for Leeds, and Bielsa must be hoping that he can return as soon as possible.

In other news, find out which Leeds player Paddy Kenny has tipped to play Champions League football!