Manchester City’s De Bruyne set for extended injury absence

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be out of action for a few months after picking up an injury in the opening match of the 2023/23 season.

The Belgian midfielder came off after only 23 minutes of Manchester City’s opening league fixture against Burnley and was replaced by Mateo Kovacic.

There were speculations about the nature of De Bruyne’s injury and Guardiola has confirmed ahead of the Cityzen’s UEFA Super Cup tie against Sevilla that the Belgian has suffered a serious injury and will not be in action for a while.

He was asked about De Bruyne’s injury and replied: “Kevin de Bruyne’s injury is serious one. He will be out for a few months.”

Guardiola also emphasised the seriousness of the injury, suggesting that the Belgian star could even require surgical intervention.

“We have to decide in the next days on surgery, he suggested before confirming, but for sure, we lose Kevin for some time.”

De Bruyne was a key component in Manchester City’s 2022/23 treble, scoring 10 goals and assisting 31 more in 49 matches, despite suffering niggling injuries during the campaign.

The Belgian midfielder has been part of a group of footballers who have protested the current football calendar which has been called exploitative and his injury only goes to support that point of view.