Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was forced to withdraw Kevin De Bruyne during Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan.
The Belgian appeared to pick up a knock towards the end of the first period and did not reappear for the second half. De Bruyne was briefly down on his haunches as physios were called onto the pitch to assess the damage.
He soldiered on until the interval, but with a blockbuster Premier League showdown at home to Arsenal pencilled in for Sunday afternoon, Guardiola opted to make the change and avoid risking further problems.
As City’s vice-captain and main creative spark, De Bruyne would be a huge miss for City if he doesn’t recover in time to face the Gunners, who are once again expected to be the Blues’ nearest challengers for the Premier League title this season.
The 33-year-old missed four months of 2023/24 with a hamstring problem and Guardiola will be desperate for his fitness record to improve this term. But his body will inevitably be pushed to its limit after a taxing Euro 2024 campaign with Belgium, and amid a congested fixture schedule comprising Premier League, Carabao Cup and European games.
De Bruyne’s injury scare may allow Mikel Arteta to feel slightly more optimistic ahead of this weekend’s match. The Arsenal manager is licking the wounds of his own talisman, Martin Odegaard, suffering ankle ligament damage while on international duty.
Arteta confirmed, ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League tie against Atalanta, that the damage sustained by Odegaard was ‘serious’ and he will be out for ‘a while’. It remains to be seen whether both he and De Bruyne are watching Sunday’s face-off from the stands.
Like their rivals, City will be scrambling to keep their heads above water until the next international break due to a packed run of games. Just two days after playing Arsenal, they host Watford in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
And the new Champions League format will only increase the total number of times his players are put to the test this term. “UEFA decided this and we want to be there so we will play the new format,” Guardiola said before the Inter clash.
“There are more games, but it is what it is. What can we do? We have an academy. We have to adapt and go. I like to play Champions League, so we are going to play.”
