Pep Guardiola has provided a positive injury update on one of Manchester City’s top stars.
Manchester City returned to winning ways on Tuesday with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brentford thanks to Erling Haaland’s late strike.
The victory took Pep Guardiola’s side up to second, just a point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, and City could take top spot themselves if they pick up another win against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side aren’t in league action this weekend as they instead face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.
That gives City a huge opportunity down on the south coast and it looks like Kevin De Bruyne could be involved.
The brilliant Belgian remained on the bench during Tuesday’s game, not even getting up to warm up, as Guardiola revealed he had a niggle in his hamstring.
The Blues boss didn’t want to risk De Bruyne so soon after returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines but did offer a positive update on Friday.
Pep Guardiola provides an update on Kevin De Bruyne
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola said: “Good, he’s not injured. Better.
“I don’t know if he’s 100 per cent but yeah, I think we took a good decision. [Not to play him] Don’t take a risk.
“Apart from the result, if the result was not good, people would ask why Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play but I think we took a decision because he didn’t feel comfortable.
“I don’t know, we have training at 4. Yesterday he came and trained for himself but today we will assess and decide but I’m pretty sure he will travel.”
Great news on Kevin De Bruyne
Guardiola is right, it was definitely the right decision to take it easy on De Bruyne.
He is approaching 33 years of age and has suffered several serious injuries in the last five years. That’s a lot of wear and tear.
You have to manage a player’s fitness and output carefully at this point in their career or risk burning them out for good.
De Bruyne is remarkable when he’s on the pitch, as proven by his form since returning, but City are in danger not having him on it for long if they overwork him.
The £54m man came back too soon from his last hamstring injury at the start of the season and then missed the first half of the campaign.
Easy does it is definitely the best approach but, thankfully, it sounds like his niggle is on the mend.
