Let's all smile: Kevin De Bruyne WILL PLAY Champions League match against Barcelona - report

Last week, a report came out saying that Kevin De Bruyne would not be ready to face Barcelona in a huge Champions League match next week because he wouldn't recover from his injury in time, despite Pep Guardiola's optimistic statements. We all wanted to cry, obviously.

Now, we can all smile, thanks to this report from Manchester Evening News:

Kevin De Bruyne is in line to return to the Manchester City side for the Champions League group game with Barcelona next Wednesday.

And with his rehab going well, he could even be considered for this weekend's home match with Everton.

De Bruyne damaged his hamstring in the win over Swansea three-and-a-half weeks ago and was sent to Barcelona to be assessed by Dr Ramon Cugat, a trusted specialist who has worked closely with City manager Pep Guardiola in the past.

De Bruyne's injury was not as bad as first feared and he is now set for involvement in at least one of City's next two matches.

M.E.N. is usually pretty reliable when they themselves report stuff about City and don't quote other sources, so there is good reason to believe they might onto something here. Personally, I don't really mind De Bruyne not playing against Everton. As tough as that game will be, it's at Etihad Stadium and a Gundogan-Silva partnership in midfield should be enough to win that match.

But there's absolutely no chance City can truly compete against Barça at Camp Nou with Kevin, and to learn that he might even start that game is a very good thing. Hopefully this report is not fooling us. We really need De Bruyne back, completely healthy and ready to return to his amazing form in the first two months of the Pep Era.