Pep Guardiola provided an update on Kevin De Bruyne’s comeback timeline. The Belgian star is still recovering from hamstring surgery, which has kept him out of Manchester City for a number of games.
De Bruyne has not played since walking out of Manchester City’s opener against Burnley. The anticipated return period was changed from mid-December to February. However, Guardiola has stated that De Bruyne might return sooner than expected. As a result, he may be in contention to play for City in the Club World Cup in December.
As quoted by Goal, Guardiola told reporters ahead of the club’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig, “I’d love to have him (Kevin De Bruyne) all season. But he has had surgery and has to recover well. The end of December or [in the] new year will be a Happy New Year for everyone!”
The manager also gave an update on several of City’s other injured players, notably John Stones.
“We have training now but we’ll see this afternoon… I’m not optimistic about good news for some people to come back… John Stones is getting better… Not to play but maybe a few minutes for the next one.” Guardiola added.
The defending Premier League winners have had a number of injury problems recently. During Saturday’s game against Liverpool, the 52-year-old manager admitted that he couldn’t even identify a starting lineup.
A handful of his players were sick with the vomiting. Guardiola, on the other hand, believes De Bruyne would not have benefited mentally from his time on the bench following a lot of gruelling seasons as City’s star.
Manchester City have already qualified for the knockout rounds of the Champions League after earning 12 points from four games. Guardiola is set to make several changes when the Sky Blues meet RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
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