Man City talisman Kevin De Bruyne ruled out for four to six weeks with a hamstring issue

Manchester City dealt major injury blow after Kevin De Bruyne is ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring issue… which rules him out for season-defining clashes with Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal next month

  • Pep Guardiola has revealed the full extent of Kevin De Bruyne’s hamstring injury
  • The Belgian talisman limped out of Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa
  • Scans on Thursday indicated the problem was worse than first predicted
  • De Bruyne will now miss crunch matches against Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal 

Pep Guardiola revealed the full extent of Kevin De Bruyne’s hamstring injury, with the midfielder set for up to six weeks on the sidelines.

De Bruyne limped out of Wednesday’s 2-0 victory against Aston Villa and scans on Thursday indicated the problem was worse than first predicted.

Manchester City will miss their talisman for three crunch Premier League matches against Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal next month.

City talisman Kevin De Bruyne suffered a hamstring injury during their win over Aston Villa

‘With Kevin, the doctor reviewed the scan, and he will be between four and six weeks out,’ Guardiola said.

‘Unfortunately for him and us, he has to be out for an important part of the season. We have to find a solution. We have to adapt. We have to move forward.

‘Having healthy players is important but it’s impossible. To demand they are fit for 11 months, playing every three days, impossible. Injuries are happening at all the clubs. We knew it, we’ve tried to avoid it with better medical care but they are human beings.’

The creative responsibility will be passed to Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva in De Bruyne’s absence, with all three hitting form over the past month.

De Bruyne was forced off the pitch before the hour mark after pulling up during a sprint

De Bruyne was forced off the pitch before the hour mark after pulling up during a sprint

City will miss their talisman for clashes against Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal next month

City will miss their talisman for clashes against Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal next month 

‘Bernardo is back,’ Guardiola said. ‘He struggled last season. Maybe it was the lack of minutes I gave him or that he wasn’t like him. He cannot play every single game, we have players from the academy. We need everyone. There are more spaces for other players.’

City will also be without Kyle Walker for Saturday’s FA Cup trip to Cheltenham Town after an impact injury on his hip, although the right back should be available next week. Nathan Ake remains sidelined, but Aymeric Laporte could return in defence.

Sergio Aguero is in self-isolation after contracting coronavirus and is likely to return to training towards the back end of next week.

‘What we wish is for him to feel better, he felt uncomfortable for two or three days after the positive test, a bit tired and symptoms,’ Guardiola said. ‘But he feels well and we want him to come back. For a long time we’ve missed our best striker. Like with Kevin, we will have to manage until they come back.’