The Citizens might have to play without a key midfielder against their Premier League rivals.
Kevin de Bruyne missed Manchester City’s training session ahead of their upcoming Premier League match against Tottenham.
Man City are eager to bounce back from their frustrating defeat against Manchester United on Saturday. Similar to their shock defeat against Southampton in the EFL Cup, the Citizens struggled to penetrate their opponents’ backline in the Manchester derby.
Pep Guardiola’s men now prepare to meet Tottenham in their next league game. But they might have to play without their best playmaker.
According to Sky Sports, De Bruyne didn’t train with the rest of Man City’s squad on Tuesday. The English outlet claims John Stones and Ruben Neves, who were both absent against United, have returned to City’s squad.
As of now, it’s not clear why De Bruyne missed the training session. But with the game being only two days away, even a minor fitness issue could prevent the Belgian from playing against the Spurs.
De Bruyne’s possible absence will be a major blow to City’s hopes of regaining their best attacking form. The 31-year-old’s link-up with Erling Haaland has led to a big portion of Man City’s goals this season.
Speaking after the Manchester derby, Guardiola admitted his side need to work on their attacking automatisms.
“At the moment we have that process because when teams are sat in their 18-yard box, it is more difficult but we have to find him [Haaland] a little bit more, yes,” Guardiola said.
“[Against United] he had enough touches but it’s true that when you are looking at areas and you have to look at him. But we will do it.”
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