Premier League 2024-25: Man City coach Guardiola unsure about when De Bruyne will return from injury
De Bruyne missed five months last season after having hamstring surgery, and Guardiola batted away questions about whether his current injury could be a long-term concern.
Published : Oct 25, 2024 18:45 IST , MANCHESTER - 2 MINS READ
FILE - Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and manager Pep Guardiola | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has no idea when midfielder Kevin de Bruyne will return from injury he said on Friday, adding the Belgian will not feature in Saturday’s game against struggling Southampton.
The 33-year-old De Bruyne was injured against Inter Milan in the Champions League last month and has missed seven fixtures since.
“I don’t know,” Guardiola said when asked when De Bruyne might return.
“Of course, I prefer to have all the squad, with the amount of games, but it is what it is. So hopefully, [he] comes back soon. But I don’t know yet.”
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De Bruyne missed five months last season after having hamstring surgery, and Guardiola batted away questions about whether his current injury could be a long-term concern.
City will also be missing Kyle Walker, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish when it looks for a win that would put it provisionally on top of the standings. Guardiola’s men have 20 points, one behind Liverpool after eight matches. Liverpool travels to third-placed Arsenal on Sunday.
Southampton has one point and is above only Wolverhampton Wanderers on goal difference.
City can also go two years unbeaten at the Etihad in the Premier League with a win on Saturday.
“It is really good,” Guardiola said. “We are consistent and if we weren’t, we wouldn’t have won the Premier League so many times. We do our job every single time.”
The Spaniard is confident Phil Foden is nearing last season’s level which saw him score 19 league goals after a rocky start to this campaign mainly due to illness. Foden scored inside three minutes in City’s 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“I am not concerned at all because I know when he is fine, he will get it. He is a natural, incredible talent who solves the game for himself,” Guardiola said.
“In a career, you have these bumps, you just have to try to restrict them. Sooner or later, it ends. I am glad to hear he feels good.”