Manchester City have confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out for three months following an injury to his right knee.
The Belgian has suffered a lateral collateral ligament lesion in his right knee following an injury sustained in training but after consultation with Doctor Ramon Cugat in Barcelona it was decided that surgery would not be required.
De Bruyne, 27, missed 12 games in 2016 after injuring the same knee during an EFL Cup semi-final victory over Everton.
Ironically, the enforced rest could do De Bruyne good after a hard year of football in which he was almost an ever-present in City’s team with a highly successful run in the World Cup with Belgium in the summer.
Fortunately for City the forthcoming domestic fixture list is kind, with only Premier League games against Liverpool (away on October 7), Tottenham (away on October 28), and Manchester United (home on November 11) of the big six on the horizon while De Bruyne is recuperating.
The Tottenham game in particular is a complication with Spurs potentially unable to use the behind schedule Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and with Wembley hosting an NFL game the same weekend and City unwilling to switch the game to the Etihad the Londoners have their own dilemma to resolve before the fixture is sorted.
While the loss of De Bruyne is a huge blow to City, along with their failure to reinforce their midfield with cover for Fernandinho, it opens the door to more appearances for Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, and Phil Foden while David Silva is expected to return from a hip injury soon.
When asked about Claudio Marchisio, the ex-Juventus midfielder who was today released from his contract with Juve by mutual consent City boss Pep Guardiola stated that the club would not be moving for the 32-year-old Italian who has been blighted with injury for the last couple of seasons – preferring once again to rely on existing squad members to provide the solution.
One midfielder who seemed set to move on from City until De Bruyne’s injury is Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Injury to Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph last season handed the 21-year-old Ukrainian a chance to play at left back last season and while De Bruyne’s injury and lack of cover for Fernandinho could give him game time the youngster could still find himself moving on before the transfer window closes with Real Betis and Girona candidates to secure him.
Zinchenko had rejected the chance to go to Premier League newcomers Wolves, Fulham, and Newcastle United prior to the English transfer window closing and De Bruyne’s injury could further strengthen his resolve to stay at the Etihad and battle for his place in the squad.
Sunday’s opponents Huddersfield Town have signed England U20 international and former Manchester City U18 player Demeaco Duhaney. Duhaney, 19, was a free agent having departed the club at the end of last summer.
The young defender has signed a two year deal with the Terriers with an option of an additional year.