Without him Man City struggle to win, so don't discount the Fernandinho factor

Pep Guardiola rates Fernandinho as a better midfielder than he ever was. Given Pep was some player, the Manchester City manager becomes extremely fidgety when his destroyer is indisposed.

On Sunday City were ascertaining how much damage has been done to the Brazilian, who hobbled off injured long before they clinched the Carabao Cup on penalties at Wembley.

After the game, Guardiola said he feared Fernandinho would be missing for ‘weeks’ with a groin injury. It is a hammer blow for City with the fixtures coming thick and fast in the business part of the season. Bad luck or fatigue is open to speculation, but the Brazilian is very much Pep’s go-to man.

Ilkay Gundogan is the prime candidate to fill the void at the base of their midfield three, doing the legwork for the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. But Guardiola knows there are very few like Fernandinho. ‘No way,’ said the manager when asked if he himself might have been able to force a way into this team, ‘Fernandinho is much, much better.’

It is one of the reasons City have found signing an understudy so difficult. They tried for Jorginho — but he opted for Chelsea instead. At 33, Fernandinho actually believes he has been at the peak of physical fitness this season. That derives from the guidance of coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and having effectively retired from international football.

He is afforded considerable downtime during the breaks, spending those periods with family, and that has meant Guardiola feels emboldened to never really rest him.

Fernandinho, the undisputed master of the dark arts, is undroppable. Perhaps he has just played too often, and it was noticeable Guardiola even picked him for the FA Cup win at League Two Newport County.

Without him, City have struggled in the Premier League. They lost both games he missed this season, against Crystal Palace and Leicester City in December. ‘It is a specific position, we don’t have his qualities again,’ said Guardiola. ‘He is an incredible player.’ City lacked control in those games. They missed someone adept at stopping play at decisive moments.

Fernandinho has been criticised for ‘tactical fouls’, though he does not actually make as many as you might imagine. Nine players in the Premier League have committed more than his 37 this season. Fernandinho said recently: ‘If opponents break our lines and are attacking our box, something has gone wrong and it is me who has to fix it. But fouls in football are normal. You have to do it sometimes.’

Gundogan offers something different. Guardiola has been impressed by his killer pass in the final third, but he lacks the tenacity of their usual anchor. Danilo operated there in extra-time on Sunday, while there was also an experiment involving John Stones earlier in the campaign.

They have to find solutions now, starting on Wednesday against West Ham in this captivating title race with Liverpool. Aymeric Laporte is a worry after also leaving Wembley injured. Stones and Gabriel Jesus missed out completely.

And the Quadruple? ‘Almost impossible,’ De Bruyne said. ‘If you do that, you must be considered the best team ever because nobody has done it. However, we are not looking at that. If we win three trophies and then we play the Champions League final, maybe we can talk about it but before that no way.’

It will be a whole lot harder if Fernandinho is missing for any length of time.