Pep Guardiola has revealed Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt for Manchester City’s crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool on Thursday night.
De Bruyne missed Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s with a muscular injury, which Guardiola says is to be expected after the Belgian’s long lay-off.
How serious is De Bruyne’s latest injury? Five things to know:
- De Bruyne missed the first two months of the season after sustaining knee ligament damage in training.
- He returned in October but suffered a recurrence of his knee problem and missed a further three weeks of action.
- City bounced back from successive defeats with a win at Southampton but De Bruyne did not travel to the south coast with the rest of the squad.
- Guardiola has revealed the midfielder has a “muscular injury” but it is “not a big issue”.
- However, the City boss was unable to confirm De Bruyne would make the Liverpool game.
De Bruyne, who played a vital role in City’s Premier League title win last season, has made just six league appearances so far this term, scoring only once.
And Guardiola has admitted he is unsure how fit the 27-year-old is going into Thursday’s huge match.
“I don’t know how he is. Today he was not able to play, but it is not a big issue,” Guardiola said, according to Sky Sports.
“It is normal for this to happen when you spend three to four months out injured – you come back in such a demanding period and you have a little bit of a problem.
“It’s not a big issue, but I cannot say if he will be able to play on Thursday.”
How will Man City replace De Bruyne if he misses Liverpool?
Thankfully for Guardiola, City don’t lack creative alternatives to De Bruyne.
David Silva (3.03), Raheem Sterling (2.4), Leroy Sane (2.34) and Bernardo Silva (2.05) have all created more chances per 90 minutes than De Bruyne (1.86) in the Premier League so far this season.
However, City’s defence has been a concern of late. The champions have conceded five goals across their last three league games, just three goals fewer than Liverpool have shipped all season.
As a result, Guardiola may be tempted to resist replacing De Bruyne with an attacking midfielder against Liverpool, perhaps partnering Fernandinho with Ilkay Gundogan in central midfield instead.
The post De Bruyne a doubt to face Liverpool – Guardiola appeared first on Squawka News.
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