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It was a dominant start to the 2023-24 Premier League campaign for the title-holders as Manchester City collected a dominant victory over Burnley Friday at Turf Moor. But, there was some concern early in the first half when midfielder Kevin De Bruyne limped off in the 23rd minute with an injury as summer signing Mateo Kovacic ultimately replaced the Belgian.
Following the fixture, manager Pep Guardiola revealed that his star playmaker is likely going to miss a “few weeks”:
Via ESPN:
“He was injured again unfortunately,” Guardiola said.
“Same place and position as the Champions League and he will be out for a while. It depends on the magnitude of the injury but will be a few weeks out.”
Kevin De Bruyne also exited early with a hamstring injury in the Champions League final against Inter Milan in June, but Pep insisted that the 32-year-old was fully fit Friday:
“He is down, he fought a lot,” Guardiola said.
“He felt really good. I prefer to start and make 50 or 55 minutes. He is disappointed but he is strong and will be back.”
It's a brutal blow for the Cityzens, but they have more than enough to keep winning without De Bruyne. Kovacic did a respectable job in the middle of the park in his place and of course, Erling Haaland bagged a first-half double to start the season off with a bang.
As for Kevin De Bruyne, you better believe the reigning champions will be extremely cautious with re-integrating him into the squad considering he just aggravated the same injury from the UCL showpiece because, in the long run, he is absolutely vital to their success in the pursuit of another treble and perhaps, even a quadruple.
