Kevin De Bruyne out for four-six weeks – Can Manchester City cope without him?
Talisman Kevin De Bruyne will be out for at least a month and a half after picking up a hamstring injury in Wednesday night’s win over Aston Villa. Three points gained but two men lost. The price Manchester City paid in their quest to return to the top half of the table.
During the 2-0 win and before the Manchester club took the lead through Bernardo Silva, playmaker de Bruyne pulled up and was replaced for Gabriel Jesus in 59th minute. The manager feared for the worst.
After meeting the club doctor, it was discovered the manager was right to be worried. The scan revealed he has picked up a hamstring injury and will be out of action for four-six weeks. Joining the Belgian in the doctor’s room is the English right-back, Kyle Walker.
The manager confirmed both injuries:
"Kyle had a big impact kick in his hips, but just a kick, so is not available tomorrow but we wish he is available for the next game,” said the City boss.Kevin, the doctor had to review the scan this morning, and he will be out between four and six weeks"
Not the time Pep wants to lose his most important player Kevin de Bruyne
This is a crucial time to lose an extremely influential player such as Kevin. Their hot run has taken them within touching distance of their neighbouring rivals. City, with a game in hand, are only two points behind United.
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Across all competitions, Pep Guardiola‘s men are on a nine-game winning streak but have some intense encounters coming up during the time Kevin de Bruyne’s out on the injury list.
In his absence, they welcome Liverpool and Tottenham to the Etihad and travel to North London to meet Spurs’ city foes, Arsenal. Burnley should also be considered a difficult test on its own, having recently given the Reds their first Anfield defeat since 2017.
Of the Reds, Spurs, and the Gunners, Manchester City have only picked up four points. They drew to the champions at Anfield and lost to Jose’s men on the road as well. West Brom is another team who stole two points from City.
Arsenal and the Clarets are the only two encounters where they took all the points. Adding to the testing run of fixtures, their Champions League Round of 16 clash against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Once the boss confirmed his pair of injuries, he jumped at the opportunity to discuss his confusion of only being allowed three substitutions in the EPL but in the FA Cup, each club can use as much as five – ending his rant by reiterating there are just too many fixtures to be played.
"Unfortunately for him and us, he’ll be out for an important part of the season, and we have to find a solution because everyone’s struggling in this situation, and we have to adapt.The players don’t want to get injured, but they are human. Why in the FA Cup can we use five subs but in the league not? It is a different competition. Is it a special one? It’s not just because it’s Kevin. It is everyone for the past five seasons. It is too many games (Via: Sky Sports)"
We’ve seen City struggle without their top players. Without Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, they struggled to score this season. We’ve also witnessed in the past their game lacks a certain edge when their best playmaker is missing from team selection.
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The next month has just gotten a lot more interesting. It wouldn’t be surprising if there are changes in the table standings at the top end after a month of Premier League football.