Manchester City’s worst fears have been realised with the news that Kevin de Bruyne will have to undergo surgery on his injured hamstring.
De Bruyne limped off during City’s 3-0 win against Burnley on the opening day of the Premier League season last week.
The 32-year-old suffered a repeat of the hamstring tear that saw him substituted during the first half of the Champions League final in June.
The Belgian did not feature in any of City’s pre-season matches in Japan and South Korea, but he did come off the bench in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.
De Bruyne needs surgery
Ahead of the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla this week, Pep Guardiola revealed that while De Bruyne’s injury is “serious”, neither player nor the club had decided whether to proceed down the surgery route.
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Now it appears that De Bruyne will undergo surgery in a bid to prevent the issue from reoccurring.
According to journalist Kristof Terreur, De Bruyne will have surgery in his native Belgium in Antwerp.
Terreur reported in HLN that the City midfielder underwent a series of examinations to determine whether or not surgery was necessary.
Now that he has decided to go under the knife, De Bruyne is expected to be out of action for three to four months.
The PFA Players’ Player of the Year nominee could miss at least 25 matches in that time, including the entirety of the Champions League group stage.
De Bruyne’s apparent recovery from the hamstring tear suffered in the Champions League final was much quicker than expected, but clearly the problem hadn’t fixed itself.
Surgery is the sensible option to take, but De Bruyne’s absence does leave Guardiola with a selection headache.
Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez can both play in attacking midfield roles, but City are looking at bringing Lucas Paqueta in from West Ham.
However, City are reportedly reluctant to meet the Hammers’ asking price.