Guardiola drops injury updates on Man City duo De Bruyne & Foden

The Manchester City boss offered updates on the two midfielders ahead of the club’s Community Shield clash with Leicester.

Pep Guardiola expects Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden to be out for ‘a while’.

The midfielders returned to Manchester City carrying injuries from the Euro 2020 tournament over the summer. A foot injury left Foden on crutches, causing him to miss the final for England. De Bruyne, on the other hand, suffered a knock while representing Belgium in the competition.

The City stars, therefore, are expected to miss the club’s Community Shield showdown with last season’s FA Cup winners Leicester on Saturday.

“Phil will be out for a while, a tough injury. We have to be careful with it,” said Guardiola in a press conference on Friday.

“Kevin still is out. I think he will come back a bit sooner than Phil, apparently. But both are still out for a while.”

When could De Bruyne & Foden return?

As Guardiola mentioned, De Bruyne has the best chance of returning first out of the pair. The 30-year-old isn’t fit enough to face Leicester, but he could be available for City’s Premier League opener at Tottenham on August 15.

Foden, meanwhile, could return to training in the next few days alongside Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, who both have been away representing Brazil at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. But he is a big doubt to face Spurs next weekend.

These setbacks are yet another blow for Guardiola, with John Stones and Raheem Sterling also set to be unavailable on Saturday.

The City boss continued: “Today, the managers in the big clubs, there are many internationals – we cannot work. We are here to handle the team spirit as well as possible, that time when you have four or five weeks to prepare.

“Half of the team is out and we don’t complain. It’s a pleasure to play the Community Shield. I’m lucky in the sixth season and my players know what they’ve to do.

“So difficult, the schedule is crazy, so tough.”