SUMMARY
- Kevin De Bruyne is a key player for Manchester City, he plays as a midfielder.
- De Bruyne was benched in Manchester City's match Brentford in the Premier League.
In the dynamic world of football, injury updates play a pivotal role in shaping a team’s strategy and fans’ expectations. Recently, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shed light on the condition of one of the team’s star players, Kevin De Bruyne.
Kevin De Bruyne is widely regarded as one of Manchester City’s key playmakers, known for his exceptional skills and influence on the field. Guardiola’s injury update naturally raises concerns about how De Bruyne’s potential absence or suboptimal condition could impact the team’s performance in upcoming matches.
Pep Guardiola explains why he left Kevin De Bruyne out against Brentford
Pep Guardiola is a magician to win several matches no matter who is available to play. But despite such results, Kevin De Bruyne has been a vital player for the Spanish ever since he graced Manchester City. Recently during their win against Brentford in the Premier League De Bruyne was left on the bench throughout the 90 minutes.
🔵🇧🇪 Pep Guardiola: “De Bruyne has “niggles” in his hamstring but it’s all good, he’s fine”.
“I just didn’t want to take any risk with him… he’s ok, he just told the doctors he was not feeling 100% and we did not want to risk anything”. pic.twitter.com/BPFOpU41LB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 21, 2024
Explaining why did Pep leave De Bruyne on the bench he said, “De Bruyne has “niggles” in his hamstring but it’s all good, he’s fine.” Claiming it was just a precautionary save, Pep left De Bruyne to take a rest for this matchday.
He explained such a situation stating, “I just didn’t want to take any risk with him… he’s ok, he just told the doctors he was not feeling 100% and we did not want to risk anything.” Claiming it not to be such a serious situation, Guardiola left De Bruyne out just for precautionary terms.
Being in a tight title race against Arsenal and Liverpool, Pep does need his top players fit on a longer term. It will always be better to lose your star player for one single game than lose him on a longer term of matches.
Kevin De Bruyne’s injury struggle season
De Bruyne, who had been sidelined for five months with a hamstring injury, has only started four games in all competitions since making his return last month. On the first night of the season, the 32-year-old suffered the injury against Burnley and had to undergo surgery. This came after he had already limped out of the Champions League final last season due to a hamstring problem.
Kevin De Bruyne’s deep scar from his recent hamstring injury 😳😣 pic.twitter.com/y6h2eG1SoB
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) February 15, 2024
De Bruyne explained that he decided to have surgery because his hamstring was like a wet paper towel, and as a 32-year-old footballer with almost 700 appearances and a couple of previous hamstring injuries, it was the best decision. The surgeon had to clean out the ruptured tendon to ensure it healed properly.
De Bruyne’s instant impact in return from injury
The first half of the season was challenging for the Cityzens due to the absence of their midfield maestro. On Christmas Eve, Manchester City was fifth in the table, while Arsenal and Liverpool were ahead of them by six points and five points respectively, with De Bruyne still nursing a hamstring injury.
De Bruyne made his first appearance on the pitch after a four-month hamstring injury, assisting in a 5-0 win against Huddersfield in the FA Cup. He then came on as a substitute in the match against Newcastle, where he scored a goal and assisted another to inspire Manchester City to a 3-2 comeback. His influence has led to similar performances and results in subsequent matches.
⚽️🎯 Goal and Assist vs Newcastle
❌ vs Tottenham
🎯 Assist vs Burnley
🎯 Assist vs Brentford
🎯 Assist vs Everton
⚽️🎯 Goal and Assist vs CopenhagenKevin De Bruyne already has 7 goal involvements in 6 games since his return from injury one month ago 🤩🔥 pic.twitter.com/xj46QjPhfb
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) February 13, 2024
Despite mostly appearing as a substitute, De Bruyne has shown good form by scoring two goals and providing five assists in the six matches he has played this season. He seems to be as fit and sharp as a player who has been playing regularly.
Manchester City’s victories in all their fixtures since De Bruyne’s return have made them favorites to win the league again. They currently occupy the second spot in the table, with a game in hand that could potentially dethrone Liverpool from the top spot. De Bruyne’s return has the potential to be the title-deciding factor, as he has played a crucial role in helping Manchester City secure league titles in previous seasons.
