Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed key man Kevin De Bruyne faces a “few months out” with a hamstring injury which could yet require surgery.
The 32-year-old midfielder was withdrawn midway through the first half of City's 3-0 win over Burnley last Friday. After the game, Guardiola stated the injury was a repeat of the hamstring tear the Belgian had sustained in their 2-1 Champions League final win over Inter Milan.
De Bruyne had been something of a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up at Burnley given he hadn't played a minute in pre-season as he went through the final stages of his recovery. He'd managed a substitute's appearance at Wembley in the Community Shield loss to Arsenal but then lasted just 23 minutes at Turf Moor.
“It’s a serious injury,” the City boss said. “We have to decide surgery or not surgery but a few months out.”
The decision on surgery will be taken in the coming days and could see him miss “three or four months”, Guardiola added.
Asked if the injury occurred because De Bruyne was rushed back into action before he was ready, Guardiola said: "We could say 'don't play' but this injury could happen later.
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BURNLEY RATINGS: James Trafford - 6. Made a routine save to deny Rodri in the 55th minute. Did well to deny Alvarez a goal with a good save five minutes from the end, but couldn’t have done anything about any of the goals. Reuters -
Dara O’Shea - 5. Almost gifted City a third goal when he passed the ball straight into the path of a white shirt while trying to clear his lines in the 38th minute. Made a good block to stop Haaland from testing Trafford after the break. Reuters -
Jordan Beyer - 4. Gave Haaland too much space in the penalty area to allow him grab the match opener. Could have done better to assist his centre-backs against the double threat of Haaland and Alvarez. Reuters -
Ameen Al Dakhil - 5. Enjoyed a very good start to the second half as he fended off the threat of Haaland twice just after the restart. However, his weak-headed clearance led to Rodri’s goal in the 76th minute. Getty -
Connor Roberts - 6. Looked solid on the left and kept the away side’s forays down the left to a minimum. Excellent block to deny Foden late in the game. PA -
Sander Berge - 4. A willing runner on the night but the quality of Manchester City’s midfield meant he mostly had to make do with chasing shadows. EPA -
Vitinho - 5. Got sucked in by Foden, which created space for Walker to run into cross the ball into the path of Alvarez in the build-up to the away side’s second goal. Later, he showed great stamina to get back and block Alvarez’s effort halfway into the second half. EPA -
Josh Cullen - 4. Tasked with protecting the backline alongside Berge, Cullen looked out of his depth against the away side’s expensively assembled midfield. PA -
Luca Koleosho - 5. Looked energetic and lively but failed to take advantage of his few chances. Should have made Ederson work when he was presented with a good chance in the 15th minute. PA -
Lyle Foster - 6. Made good use of his place as he constantly kept City's backline on their toes. Beautiful dink to get past Akanji’s sliding tackle, but he failed to trouble Ederson with his resulting effort in the 28th minute. Getty -
Zeki Amdouni - 5. Enjoyed a very lively start to the game but drifted out of the game after the away side’s second goal. Had the Clarets' first shot on target with a weak effort straight into the hands of Ederson. AFP -
SUBS: Jacob Bruun Larsen (Koleosho, 61') - 5. Failed to keep his header on target in the 79th minute. Worked hard but failed to make things happen in the final third. PA -
Anass Zaroury (Amdouni, 61') - 3. Brought on to inject more energy into the Clarets midfield, the youngster got sent off for an unnecessary lunge on Kyle Walker late in the game. EPA -
Manuel Benson (Beyer, 74') - N/A. Brought on to help shore up the defense but unfortunate to see his side concede a third less than a minute after coming on. Reuters -
Josh Brownhill (Berge, 90') - N/A. Didn’t have much of a chance to get involved. Nathan Redmond (Forster, 90') - N/A. Reuters -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6. A tranquil evening between the sticks for Ederson. The Brazilian was only called into action once to make a routine save in the first half. Getty -
Kyle Walker - 7. Another assured display from Walker on the right side of a three-man defence. He cleverly used his pace to get out of sticky situations. Getty -
Manuel Akanji - 6. Looked very shaky in the first half as Burnley pressed high up the pitch in a bid to force errors. Lucky to get away with a slight tug in the penalty area after Amdouni got the better of him in the first half. PA -
Nathan Ake - 7. A solid return after his injury lay off, and played his part in City’s clean sheet. Played more centrally than he did at the end of last season, and looked right at home. Getty -
Rico Lewis - 7. Tasked with playing the inverted role in the absence of John Stones, Lewis looked assured in possession and helped create overload in the middle of the pitch. Must have breathed a sigh of relief after Rodri cleaned up his mess in the 28th minute. Getty -
Rodri - 9. Reacted quickly to create the match opener with a header back across the face of the goal for Haaland to finish. Excellent recovery tackle to nip the ball from Amdouni and stop him from running through on goal in the 27th minute. Grabbed the goal his performance deserved with a close-range finish in the 76th minute. PA -
Kevin De Bruyne - 6. Got close to setting Haaland up for his second goal in the 11th minute, but the Norwegian failed to keep his effort on target. Picked up an injury which forced him off halfway through the first half. Getty -
Bernardo Silva - 6. Drifted in and out of the game. Got caught on the ball in his penalty area while trying to dribble his way out of trouble and gifted the home side a good chance to nick one back. PA -
Phil Foden - 7. Had a chance to test Trafford in the 34th minute, but he failed to keep the ball under control. Tried to set up Haaland for his hat-trick just after the hour mark, but his pass was just slightly overhit. Getty -
Julian Alvarez - 7. Was having a very quiet game until he popped up to set Haaland up for the away side’s second goal. Could only hit his effort high and wide when Haaland set him up in the 59th minute. PA -
Erling Haaland - 9. Continued from where he left off last season by scoring the first goal of the 2023-24 campaign with his first touch in the fourth minute. Made it two with a first-time left-footed finish that went in off the crossbar in the 36th minute. Reuters -
SUBS: Mateo Kovacic (De Bruyne, 24') - 7. On for the injured De Bruyne, Kovacic helped City slow things down in midfield and easily got out of tight positions. Kept things simple and classy. Reuters -
Josko Gvardiol (Lewis, 80') - N/A. On for his debut, Gvardiol looked solid and confident during his short cameo. EPA -
Cole Palmer (Haaland, 80') - N/A. Couldn’t replicate his goalscoring impact as a sub like he did against Arsenal last week, but the youngster looked lively after coming on. Aymeric Laporte (Ake, 80') - N/A. PA
"Before I took the decision I spoke to the doctor, the physio and him. He said he felt good. We will see (about signing a replacement for De Bruyne). After what happened we will see the possibilities."
The City boss was speaking ahead of Wednesday night's Uefa Super Cup against Sevilla in Athens. City will appear in the game for the very first time having won their maiden Champions League title last term.
Asked to reflect on last season's treble success, City also won the Premier League and FA Cup, Guardiola said: "It is a relief for the club. It's always difficult to win. Of course it is a relief but it is not enough otherwise we would be at home. We are hungry enough to compete and challenge ourselves. If someone wants to take our three crowns they will have to fight to take it."
Opponents Sevilla have won a record seven Europa Leagues and then lost all-but one of the six Super Cups they have contested, but Guardiola said: "Sevilla have special character, it's something in the DNA that makes this team different. They will be dangerous against us.
"You cannot imagine how happy that we are to play the Super Cup because we won the Champions League. Who knows when we will come back here to win this tournament?"
