De Bruyne Set To Miss Next Few Weeks For Manchester City

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is set to miss a few weeks of action, according to manager Pep Guardiola. The Belgian midfielder pulled up in the 23rd minute and immediately signalled to the bench to come off during City’s 3-0 win at Burnley.

And Guardiola took to his post-match news conference to confirm the assist-king will be out of action for a while. “It’s the hamstring again. Same position. I don’t know [how long he will be out] it depends on the magnitude of the injury but it will be a few weeks out.”

It’s another blow for the City star, who was forced off during the Champions League final with a groin strain and had to watch from the sidelines as City claimed the trophy for the first time.

And the manager revealed that the plan was for de Bruyne to only play the first half of his first match back from injury. “He felt really good and I spoke with him. He wanted to start. To play for 45 minutes was the idea. Maybe it was a mistake. But when someone is injured after 15-20 minutes, it’s not about that, it’s about something wrong.

“If it happened after 60-65 minutes it could be fatigue of the muscle. We have to talk with the doctor and with him. He has to free his mind and he’ll be back for sure.”

New signing Mateo Kovacic replaced de Bruyne to make his City debut as the blues went on to win 3-0 at Turf Moor. An Erling Haaland brace and a late goal by Rodri secured the win in Lancashire.