‘He’s not injured he was just Sick’… Pep Guardiola confirms £54m Man City player is almost back to his best

Pep Guardiola confirms £54 million. Manchester City player is nearly back to his best.
Pep Guardiola has delivered an encouraging injury report on one of Manchester City’s key players.

Manchester City returned to winning ways on Tuesday, defeating Brentford 1-0 thanks to Erling Haaland’s late goal.

The result moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to second place, just one point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, and City could seize the lead if they beat Bournemouth on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side isn’t in league action this weekend, instead facing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.

This opens up a major potential for City on the south coast, and Kevin De Bruyne appears to be engaged.

The magnificent Belgian sat out Tuesday’s game, not even getting up to warm up, after Guardiola said he had a hamstring injury.

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The Blues manager did not want to put De Bruyne at risk so soon after his comeback from a lengthy injury layoff, but he did provide an encouraging update on Friday.

Kevin De Bruyne sat on the bench.
Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images.
Pep Guardiola shares an update on Kevin De Bruyne.
Guardiola stated at his pre-match press conference, “Good, he’s not hurt. Better.

“I am not sure if he is completely convinced, but I believe we made the right decision. [Not to play him] Don’t risk it.

“Aside from the outcome, if it wasn’t excellent, people would wonder why Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play, but I believe we made the decision because he didn’t feel comfortable.

“I’m not sure; we have training at 4.” He came yesterday and trained for himself, but today we will assess and decide, but I am confident he will travel.”

He is approaching 33 years old and has experienced multiple significant injuries in the last five years. That represents a significant amount of wear and strain.

At this stage in a player’s career, you must carefully control their fitness and output or risk burning them out permanently.

De Bruyne is excellent when he’s on the pitch, as evidenced by his form since his comeback, but City risk losing him for good if they overwork him.

The £54 million man returned too soon from his last hamstring injury at the start of the season, missing the first half of the season.

Easy does it is probably the best strategy, but happily, his niggle appears to be on the mend.