Manchester City’s 2023/24 campaign has gotten off to something of a false start when it comes to player fitness, as they are suddenly without one of their most important players for a long spell.
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best players in the Premier League and he would walk into any team in world football. You would never want to lose him from your own team, especially when you consider the way in which he was linking up with Erling Haaland last season.
Pep Guardiola now needs to find a way to ensure that his Man City side can maintain their frighteningly high level from last year without the Belgian midfielder making things happen all over the pitch.
Unfortunately for Guardiola and Man City fans, it’s a serious one. De Bruyne is going to be out for a very long time after he suffered a hamstring injury in the opening Premier League game of the season away at Burnley.
The expectation right now is that he is going to miss about four months and could require surgery.
“We have to decide if he needs surgery or no surgery but he will be out for a few months,” said Guardiola after the game. “The decision on surgery will be taken in the coming days and could see him miss three or four months.
“We could say don’t play but this injury could happen later,” the Spanish boss said. “Before I took the decision I spoke to the doctor, the physio and him. He said he felt good. I have to say the injury for Kevin is a blow for us. It’s a big loss. Kevin has specific qualities which you can lose for one or two games but, for a long time, it is really tough for us.”
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If we’re being brutally honest, De Bruyne is the calibre of player that you do not simply replace. That being said, if any team is able to mitigate the effects of losing a player like De Bruyne, it is Guardiola’s Man City.
They have got an abundance of talented attacking midfielders that can really lessen the burden of being without De Bruyne, and they may not even need to dip into the transfer market (though they are preparing a new bid for West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta).
There has been one game since De Bruyne got injured and that was the UEFA Super Cup. In that match, Guardiola opted for a 4-2-3-1 which saw Phil Foden play in the number ten position where you would expect to see De Bruyne. Foden has often been used on the right wing, but Cole Palmer’s storming start to the season continued and he was deployed there instead.
It may well be that Palmer’s emergence on the right has come at exactly the right time. Alternatively, Jack Grealish can be used in the middle of that attack too, but he does seem to have found a home on the left wing.
As far as depth goes though, Guardiola may have been making a point when he made just one change in the 90 minutes. That saw Palmer come off with only five minutes to play and Julian Alvarez come on. As an extra complication, Palmer could still leave this summer.
Beyond youngster James McAtee, there was nobody on the bench that you would really ask to play behind Haaland. Mateo Kovacic was playing deeper in the midfield, though there are more options there and so perhaps he could be shifted further forward when needed.
The other player that can certainly play a role behind Haaland and on the wing when needed is Bernardo Silva. He seems to be destined to stay at Man City now, but he missed the Super Cup win with an injury, though it shouldn’t keep him out of the game against Newcastle at the weekend.
Speaking ahead of the Super Cup, Guardiola suggested that while De Bruyne cannot be directly replaced, there are plenty of players that can contribute. That suggests that there isn’t going to be a sudden major signing of an attacking midfielder.
“At the same time you have to look forward, you have alternatives there – of course different skills, as the skills from Kevin are irreplaceable.
“We have a different talent of players and this is an opportunity; life gives you that. When there is an injury there is an opportunity for the other one, so I’m pretty sure they will take it.”
As to whether City will try and bring in reinforcements before the transfer window closes, Guardiola said: “We will see. After what happened we will see the possibilities.”
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