32-year-old Belgium national team and Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for up to four months, according to head coach of Citizens Pep Guardiola. The star midfielder was recently seen hobbled off and substituted by new club signing Mateo Kovačić after 22 minutes in Manchester City’s opening match of the 2023/2024 English Premier League Season against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, before official statement confirmed that the Manchester City captain had injured the same hamstring on his right leg, an injury that forced him leave early in last season’s UEFA Champions League Final against Italian Serie A side Inter Milan.
Newly-Elected Manchester City Captain Following İlkay Gündoğan’s Departure
Citizens eventually beat the Kompany-managed Burnley side with a convincing score line of 3-0 thanks to a brace from sensational striker Erling Haaland, but the three points have come at the expense of a serious injury occurred to one of the most important figures of the club. In a public conference given by 52-year-old head coach Guardiola, the Spanish manager confirmed that his Manchester City captain has suffered a serious injury to the same damaged hamstring last June and might be requiring a surgery for the matter, an action that will prevent the Manchester City captain from playing until the end of 2023 or the start of 2024.
Kevin De Bruyne was of course the vice captain of the continental treble-winning Manchester City team last season, and he was appointed the captain this year following German midfielder İlkay Gündoğan’s exit and move to join Spanish La Liga side Barcelona this summer transfer window. The decision of making him the new Manchester City captain was supposed to provide him with all the positive momentum needed to start the 2023/2024 Season in the right way, having also been elected as the skipper for his country Belgium due to former captain Eden Hazard’s retirement earlier this year.
Since joining the club back in the 2015/2016 Season, the Manchester City captain scored 96 goals and provided 153 assists in 358 appearances in all competitions, and such statistics and influences are reasons why the club had captured numerous league, domestic cup and European club football honours. With De Bruyne now out injured for an extensive period of time, it will be interesting to see who will be replacing his position and how well Guardiola’s side can cope with the Manchester City captain’s absence.
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De Bruyne Joined the Long List of Injured High-Profile Players
The Belgium and Manchester City captain is not the only notable name who injured himself at the start of this 2023/2024 football season, as his fellow countryman and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Brazilian defender Éder Militão and new Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku are also sidelined for a long period due to torn anterior cruciate ligaments and knee injury respectively. Such circumstances could be caused by the-now busy calendar in professional football and it would not be a surprise to have more famous footballers succumb to injuries sooner or later this season.
Lucas Paquetá to Sign for Pep Guardiola’s Squad?
With Gündoğan leaving for Barcelona and De Bruyne now injured for Manchester City, it is imperative that Guardiola seek the help of a new player if his squad wishes to continue last season’s treble-winning momentum in 2023/2024. A likely name who could be on his way to join the Spaniard’s squad and momentarily replace the Manchester City captain De Bruyne is West Ham United’s Lucas Paquetá. The Brazilian midfielder has been heavily linked to make a move to the Blue Side of Manchester even before De Bruyne’s injury, and Manchester City is actively preparing a formal bid for the 25-year-old player.
Apart from Paquetá, Citizens are also plotting a transfer for young Stade Rennais F.C. and Belgium winger Jérémy Doku to replace former flanker Riyad Mahrez, who left for the Saudi Pro League earlier this transfer window, at the right wing. The Antwerp-born player is tipped to be the “Next Eden Hazard”, having already accumulated 12 goals in 98 appearances across four seasons for Rennes.
Manchester City to Face Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup Final
As the winner of last season’s UEFA Champions League, the De-Bruyne-less Manchester City will be facing fellow UEFA Europa League champion from Spain Sevilla at the Karaiskakis Stadium tonight. Should Guardiola’s side able to beat its Spanish opponent in Greece, it will be the first UEFA Super Cup win in the history of Manchester City football club.
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