Pep Guardiola predicted that Kevin De Bruyne will be out for ‘a while’ after he suffered another hamstring injury. De Bruyne played for months with a hamstring issue at the back end of last season, having his minutes closely monitored before breaking down in the first half of the Champions League final against Inter. He worked his way back to fitness ahead of the new season but pulled up midway through the first half at Burnley in their first Premier League game and immediately asked to be substituted. City’s playmaker walked out of Turf Moor without a visible problem but Guardiola confirmed after the match that it was another serious injury with the Belgian now set for a spell on the sidelines. The extent of the problem has not yet been confirmed, although his manager expects it to be significant.
Pep Guardiola said: “He was injured again unfortunately. Same place and position as the Champions League and he will be out for a while.”
In his press conference, Guardiola played down the idea that De Bruyne could have returned too quickly from his last injury as he explained how disappointed the player was.
Pep Guardiola said: “He’s down because he fought a lot. He lost the final of the Champions League after 25 minutes. He felt really good, he felt perfect and I prefer a start, make 40-45 minutes and after but unfortunately it happened. Maybe it was a mistake [to come back so early] but if it was an injury after 65 [minutes] it would be fatigue of the muscle but after 15 minutes we have to talk to the doctors, relax and be free in your mind. In our second year he was a long time injured so he has to relax because he came back from that position and he will be back now.”
