Pep Guardiola details ‘disturbing’ Kevin De Bruyne injury ahead of Real Madrid Champions League clash
Kevin De Bruyne has a ‘disturbing’ injury, according to Pep Guardiola, ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, but he will play in the first leg.
The Spanish giants visit the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday for the opener of a two-game series, and Guardiola is low on options across the board.
Kyle Walker and John Stones were both injured in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Watford and are doubts for the Real match, while Joao Cancelo is definitely out due to suspension.
But Tuesday’s massive game was clearly on Guardiola’s mind during the Premier League clash with the Hornets, as Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were rested, while Aymeric Laporte and Rodri were substituted late on.
De Bruyne was also replaced after 57 minutes, with City already 5-1 up, and Guardiola revealed that this was owing to the Belgian dealing with an ankle ailment he’d picked up in recent games.
“If you have 17 or 18 players fit I would say it does not matter, but that is not the case,” the City boss said after the game. “I have 13 or 14 players fit and in the last games Ayme and Kevin played a lot of minutes.
“Kevin is playing with some disturbing niggles in his ankle from the kicks he got in the last games. But at 5-1, I was thinking not just Madrid, but Leeds away [next weekend]. That’s why in that moment I’m thinking the game is almost over at 5-1.
“Of course I gave a rest to players in the last minutes who had played a lot of minutes. We don’t have central defenders. That’s why Nathan [Ake] played today with a problem with his ankle. We have to think about it in the next ones. If it was 1-0 or 2-0, Kevin would have continued to the end, I can assure you.”
Guardiola was also asked about his defensive alternatives and whether Oleksandr Zinchenko could play at left-back for Manchester City against Real Madrid, given Walker and Stones’ fears, to which he responded with a fitness update.
“We don’t have many options,” he explained. “We don’t have full-backs, we don’t know if Kyle will arrive. So we will see. Joao is out and John, it will be difficult to get to. We will see, but Alek is another player who is so reliable.”
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Pep Guardiola details ‘disturbing’ Kevin De Bruyne injury ahead of Real Madrid Champions League clash
