Manchester City will be without Kevin De Bruyne when they face Newcastle United on Saturday.
De Bruyne missed last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal due to an injury sustained against Inter Milan and was also left out of the heavily rotated squad which beat Watford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Manager Pep Guardiola also confirmed on Friday that fellow midfielder Rodri has undergone surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee and is not expected to return for nine months. City confirmed earlier this week that Rodri had suffered a ligament injury during Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
“No,” Guardiola replied when asked if De Bruyne would return at St. James’ Park. “Maybe before the international break.”
Rodri had surgery on his injury in Madrid earlier on Friday (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
On Rodri, Guardiola said: “He had surgery this morning on his ACL and some meniscus and next season he will be here — this season is over.
“We got the worst (news) but it is what it is. At this level unfortunately this happens. We are there to support him and hopefully he has a good recovery step by step and move forward.”
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He continued: “When you have an ACL injury for nine months, the year after you have muscular problems for sure. I think Rodri will be at his best not just in nine months but it is what it is, as a club we will find a solution.“
Asked if City will look to make a move in the January transfer window, Guardiola added: “We will see. We talked today with Txiki (Begiristain, City’s director of football), we will see what’s going on. We don’t have to decide tomorrow, right? We have time to see the potential problems we will have and after we will see.”
Following the Newcastle match, City face a trip to Slovakia to play Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday before hosting Fulham in the Premier League next Saturday in their final game before the October international break.
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(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)