Kevin De Bruyne remains a doubt for the upcoming Manchester Derby this Sunday, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed.
The playmaker picked up a knock during City’s win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final which forced him to miss their FA Cup tie vs Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.
And now Pep Guardiola has admitted that Kevin De Bruyne is still not a 100 per cent meaning he could be an absentee when Man City travel across town to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Guardiola said, as quoted: “He is getting better. I spoke this morning with the physio and he feels better. It’s not perfect but we will see.”
Leroy Sane has returned back to training after his long-term injury layoff and some reports had claimed the player would be fit for the Manchester Derby.
But the City boss has made it clear that this Sunday’s game will be too early for the German to make a comeback.
He added: “No. He’s making big progress but he’s still not 100 per cent fit and he has to be 100 per cent fit to play now. Maybe another Under-23 game would be good.”
Will Kevin De Bruyne be a miss?
Much like the other seasons, this season too the Belgium international has been a standout performer for Man City, managing to provide 17 assists in just 26 Premier League matches so far.
And if he is truly going to miss the Manchester Derby then surely it will be a massive blow Man City and a huge tactical advantage for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Against Real Madrid, Guardiola chose to play with a 4-4-1-1 formation with Kevin De Bruyne playing just behind Bernardo Silva upfront and there’s a big chance that the City boss could deploy the same tactic this Sunday – playing without an out and out striker.
But if De Bruyne misses out then Pep might just have to rethink his plans since playing a false nine is not everyone’s cup of tea.
