The midfielder missed out on Wednesday’s FA Cup game because of injury, and his supervisor is not sure he will be available at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola says that Kevin De Bruyne missed out on Wednesday’s FA Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday Because of an accident that could rule him out for the forthcoming Manchester derby.
De Bruyne didn’t feature in Manchester City’s 1-0 win on Wednesday, as Sergio Aguero fired the lone goal in the victory over the 12th-place Championship side.
The Belgian star has featured in 35 total matches for the club this season, scoring nine goals with eight of those coming from the Premier League.
However, it seems that De Bruyne could miss time with an injury that could potentially keep him out of action for this weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
“He [Kevin de Bruyne] dropped down in a poor position and had an issue with his spine,” Guardiola said.
“We do not know how long [he will be out for with Manchester derby on Sunday], not that much.”
Manchester City currently sit second in the Premier League, 22 points behind league leaders Liverpool with a match in hand.
Guardiola’s side is keeping a seven-point lead over third-place Leicester as well, with the Foxes also having played an additional match.
With Wednesday’s victory, Manchester City booked a date with Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-finals, which is played on March 4.
“The important thing is that we’re there. We would like to be in the draw. We’re in the draw,” Guardiola said.
“This is our fourth game off in a row and we’ve got another one at Old Trafford. We spend plenty of mental energy in past games. The players were prepared.
“We did not concede one-shot target, that means a lot. The second half was better than the first because we discovered better the spaces where we ought to proceed. We’re still alive.
He added:”Obviously we could be concerned, but we can fix a couple of things. Continue with this speed, do not concede free-kicks and corners.
“We did not concede once which means a great deal for our capability to read the sport. We scored a goal and we could have scored more.”
