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Pochettino fears worst for Rodriguez

Jay Rodriguez looks likely to face a long layoff © Getty Images

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Southampton are waiting to see if Jay Rodriguez has been ruled out for the rest of the season and the World Cup amid fears he has suffered knee ligament damage.

Southampton's top scorer, who has struck 15 times in the Premier League this season, was stretchered off in their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City after landing awkwardly.

The former Burnley forward, who has won one cap and was in the last England squad, was being watched by his national team manager Roy Hodgson.

Saints manager Mauricio Pochettino, who also launched into a scathing attack on referee Chris Foy for the decisions that led to City's first two goals, said he fears the worst for the 24-year-old.

"It is not looking good for him or looking good for the team," he said in his post-match news conference. "I can't really know when I am going to see him again in a Southampton shirt. We need to analyse him today [Saturday] and tomorrow and know the exact nature of his injury.

"All the players are really affected, not just about the result and not just about the refereeing decisions but more than anything by the doubt about how severe his injury is."

Pochettino complained about City's first two goals, believing Jose Fonte had not fouled Edin Dzeko before Yaya Toure scored a third-minute penalty and saying that the second, scored by Samir Nasri, was the sort of goal he only expected to see awarded in a children's game.

Replays showed that David Silva, who set up the Frenchman, was clearly offside when Dzeko flicked Toure's pass into his path.

Pochettino said: "The second decision was clearly two metres offside and it did seem a type of game that you play at school. Those two decisions killed the game - that penalty we conceded and the second goal. I don't think you can give a penalty like that after just two minutes, I think it is unexplainable and it is not right."

The Argentine spoke to the match officials at the end of the game, adding: "I have already spoken to them and I am not going to speak any more to them. If I were to speak to them, we would have to probably repeat the match."

City manager Manuel Pellegrini said it was a game of two halves, explaining: "I think it was a very different game, the first 45 minutes and the second one. The first 45 minutes we didn't play well.

"But in our worst moment, we scored three goals and I don't remember many chances for Southampton, only an unnecessary penalty [scored by Rickie Lambert]."

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