Pep Guardiola fears Kevin De Bruyne could miss the rest of the season after he was injured in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Tottenham. City moved back to the top of the Premier League standings with a hard-fought victory over Spurs at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with an early opener from Phil Foden proving to be the difference between the two sides.
The victory also acted as revenge for the Citizens, who were knocked out of the Champions League by Tottenham during the week, but it did seemingly come at a cost as influential midfielder De Bruyne was forced off with a muscular issue towards the end of the first half.
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De Bruyne has had his fair share of fitness problems this season, with two separate knee injuries limiting him to just 11 Premier League starts. Guardiola believes the 27-year-old’s latest problem is a direct result of his previous injury issues.
“It was something muscular, which is normal after injuries and three or four games of a lot of minutes with no preparation,” Guardiola told City’s official website. The former Barcelona coach does not yet know the full extent of De Bruyne’s injury but did admit his season could be over, with his involvement in Wednesday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford looking unlikely.
“I don’t know,” Guardiola added. “I didn’t speak with him or the doctors. Maybe he will miss the four games and the FA Cup final. I don’t know how big the impact is. “We will see tomorrow but I think for the next game, he will be out.”
