As per Fabrizio Romano, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne has suffered a ‘serious’ injury, and will be out for ‘a few months’.
The Spaniard also stated that the club will decide whether the Belgian needs surgery in the coming days, but that he is expected to be out for ‘some time’.
The 32-year-old started City’s opening Premier League fixture against Burnley on Friday night, but was substituted off for new signing Mateo Kovačić in the 23rd minute due to injury- as The Citizens went on to to secure a 3-0 victory over Vincent Kompany’s side.
This news will come as a significant blow to the Manchester club, as they look to win a record fourth successive Premier League title and build upon last season’s historic treble victory- a campaign in which De Bruyne was a pivotal figure. The midfielder made 49 appearances in all competitions for his side, scoring 10 and assisting an astounding 31 goals, as he claimed his fifth Premier League, fifth League Cup, and first Champions League at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne’s loss marks another chapter in what has been a tumultuous summer for City, with stalwarts Riyad Mahrez and İlkay Gündoğan already having already departed and Aymeric Laporte and João Cancelo also set to be moved on. Meanwhile, other key players such as Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker are now expected to stay having been heavily linked with a move away all summer- with the latter even set to sign on to a new deal.
As for incomings, the aforementioned Kovačić has joined from Premier League rivals Chelsea, and is joined by his Croatian compatriot Joško Gvardiol, who signed for €90m from RB Leipzig. Whilst moves for West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá and Stade Rennais’ Jeremy Doku are still developing.
Travis Levison | Get Football
