Pep Guardiola Announces Extended Absence for Kevin de Bruyne Following New Injury
Kevin de Bruyne led Manchester City in their Premier League debut, but the Belgian midfielder, who missed two months of last season with a torn hamstring and collapsed in the Champions League final, played only 22 minutes.
After playing only 22 minutes on the opening night of the new Premier League season, Pep Guardiola acknowledged Kevin de Bruyne will be “out for a while.”
At Turf Moor, the champion Manchester City team faced Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, with the Belgian midfielder serving as captain.
But De Bruyne, who exited injured from City’s victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, signaled the bench halfway through the opening frame that he was unable to continue. As he exited the field, he exuded a strong sense of unhappiness and sorrow.
Mateo Kovacic, who had joined the team after joining from Chelsea in the summer, took his place.
After the game, Guardiola acknowledged the injury was to De Bruyne’s hamstring once more and that City might be left without their playmaker for an extended length of time.
“Unfortunately, he’s injured again, in the same place and position as the Champions League,” Guardiola told the BBC. He will be unavailable for a while.
In fact, a regretful Guardiola conceded that De Bruyne might not have been the best choice to start. Guardiola said in a statement to Sky Sports that “We need to go back and reflect with the medical team. In the first few minutes, he was both physically and athletically in great shape. Unfortunately, he has sustained another injury.
Perhaps [he shouldn’t have started], but what transpires in the first 15 minutes might have happened in minutes 50, 65, or 70 as well.
He needs to take it easy, rest, and recover before returning since, despite feeling great and performing well in the opening minutes, he is now wounded once more.
When Burnley manager Kompany learned that his Championship winners had been defeated by two goals from Erling Haaland and a goal from Rodri in the second half, he was all praise for his former team.
They currently have a disproportionate amount of power in the world. I stated that we had to get something from the game, ideally the outcome, but we had to gain something anyhow. I believe we can learn from the game. Our squad will only get stronger.
The most important thing is that five news players made their debuts, and we are only going to grow better. “It’s like in life, you tell your kids, you fall down, you get back up. When you have a bad time, you go again, you go harder and together.
“We can enhance the guys we have and the style we play. Every time, we’re going to get better.
