De Bruyne is expected to be sidelined for ten days and will miss important games, including the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.
His exit in the 65th minute of Wednesday night’s meeting between Atlético and Manchester City, after contact with Reinildo, directly foreshadowed the worst. Limping and complaining about his right leg, Kevin De Bruyne did not hide his disappointment, once back on the bench, with the trainers by his side. And his crestfallen expression was equal to his disappointment at not being able to help his teammates qualify for the Champions League semi-finals, which they did despite a very nervous end to the match.
At the post-match microphone and despite qualifying, Pep Guardiola could not hide his concern. Not so much because of the duration of De Bruyne’s unavailability but rather because the temporality of this absence is very, very annoying.
“We are in big trouble with injuries”explained the coach of the Citizens during his post-match reaction. “The team plays every three days and it’s not easy.”
(…)
