Kevin De Bruyne has suffered an injury and will be out for up to four months
Kevin de Bruyne may miss the next four months of the season as Manchester City decide whether to operate on a hamstring issue, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
The 32-year-old went off after 23 minutes of City’s first-ever victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Friday. He was also hurt in June’s Champions League final victory over Inter Milan.
“It’s a serious injury,” said Guardiola.
De Bruyne missed all of City’s preseason games until coming in as a second-half replacement in Arsenal’s Community Shield defeat.
“We have to decide if he needs surgery or no surgery but he will be out for a few months,” added Guardiola, who confirmed De Bruyne’s issue is related to the same hamstring.
“The decision on surgery will be taken in the coming days and could see him miss three or four months”.
Last season, the Belgian midfielder scored 10 goals and assisted on 31 others as City won the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup.
He admitted earlier this month that he had been playing with pain with a hamstring issue for the final two months of the season, but Guardiola maintained he had taken every precaution before the game against Burnley.
“We could say don’t play but this injury could happen later,” the Spanish boss said. “Before I took the decision I spoke to the doctor, the physio and him. He said he felt good.
“I have to say the injury for Kevin is a blow for us. It’s a big loss. Kevin has specific qualities which you can lose for one or two games but, for a long time, it is really tough for us.
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“At the same time you have to look forward, you have alternatives there – of course different skills, as the skills from Kevin are irreplaceable.
“We have a different talent of players and this is an opportunity; life gives you that. When there is an injury there is an opportunity for the other one, so I’m pretty sure they will take it.”
Guardiola declined to say whether City will try to bring in reinforcements before the transfer market closes: “We will see. After what happened we will see the possibilities.”
On Wednesday, Man City will meet Europa League winners Sevilla in the Super Cup in Athens, Greece.
Midfielder Rodri stated that he was ignorant of the extent of De Bruyne’s injury, but that the squad will assist the Belgian in his recuperation.
“He is the one of most important players of the club. We will miss him a lot,” said Spain international Rodri.
“We will try to support him in these moments. No one wants injuries. I saw him he other day and he was positive.
“He’s an experienced player, he knows he has to recover. That’s the most important part. We will miss him but we have a complete squad to play the next the few months.”
