Kevin De Bruyne Man City
Kevin De Bruyne Man City

Chelsea knocked Manchester City out of the FA Cup on Saturday and apart from the exit, Guardiola also lost Kevin De Bruyne to an injury.

City started the match on the back foot as Chelsea took the initiative from the very first minute. But just as the Citizens were looking to shift gears in the second half, they lost Kevin De Bruyne to what looked like an ankle injury.

And speaking after the match, the Manchester City manager has hinted that the playmaker could be out for a long time, as the injury looks serious.

“He has pain now,” said Pep, as quoted by the club’s official website.

“Tomorrow he has a test with doctors. Apparently, it doesn’t look good but we will see tomorrow.

“Now it’s Aston Villa – we need ten points and we need the first three. And then final of Carabao Cup and then semi-final versus PSG.”

The injury to Kevin De Bruyne really helped Chelsea maintain that pressure and shortly after the Belgian was taken off, Hakim Ziyech scored the only goal of the match.

If the problem is really serious then it is bad news for Guardiola since Man City will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup final next weekend. And if someone like De Bruyne is missing from this game then Mourinho will be a really happy man.

Guardiola does have players like Phil Foden and Gundogan who can fill up the void but the Belgian international is one of a kind and his absence next weekend might just help tilt the tie in Spurs’ favour.

Read: Chelsea join Man United in the race to sign this La Liga centre-back.