Kevin De Bruyne is to be assessed for Manchester City’s crucial Premier League clash against Arsenal after picking up an injury in their goalless Champions League draw with Inter Milan.
The Belgium international, 33, was forced off at half-time after appearing to hurt himself during a first-half run, where he was challenged by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Despite receiving treatment, De Bruyne continued until the break but did not return for the second half.
City manager Pep Guardiola admitted uncertainty over De Bruyne’s availability for the weekend.
“I don’t know (what the problem is),” Guardiola said. “I haven’t spoken with the doctors yet. We’ll assess tonight, maybe tomorrow. I will have more info tomorrow.”
Sunday’s match against Arsenal will be a sufficient test for City, as Mikel Arteta’s side are second in the table and just two points behind, having finished runners-up to them for the last two seasons.
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In addition to De Bruyne’s potential absence, City have yet to see several key players return to full fitness. Rodri made his first start of the season against Inter, while Phil Foden, who came on as a second-half substitute, is yet to complete a full 90 minutes this campaign. Kyle Walker did not feature midweek, and Ilkay Gundogan has only started once so far this season, in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brentford. Defender Nathan Ake, meanwhile, is expected to be out until the next international break with a muscle injury.
Despite the stalemate against Inter, Guardiola remained upbeat about his team’s performance.
“We faced a really, really difficult team — the champions from Italy. A class team in all departments,” he added.
“I’m really, really satisfied for the game we played. I liked everything about my team today, everything.
“We would have preferred to win — there are still seven games. We’ll see what happens.”
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(Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
