Kevin De Bruyne has already experienced yet another setback. He limped off at Turf Moor in the final 3-0 victory over Burnley. The Manchester City star was replaced by newcomer Mateo Kovacic after only 22 minutes.
De Bruyne suffered a hamstring injury in the previous season during the Champions League final against Inter Milan, it is noteworthy that the Belgian star has had a terrible run of injuries lately. He handed the armband to Kyle Walker as he left the pitch as City’s leader for the evening.
These De Bruyne’s injuries is the reason Manchester City MUST sign another creative midfielder this summer without fail. Bring Paqueta to Etihad. 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/ccLXoFvI70
— Kijana ya Gachagua😋😂 (@mason_knows) August 11, 2023
De Bruyne complained of a niggle during the game, and manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports that he would be out for a while: “Unfortunately he is injured again.
“He said to me it’s a problem in the same position as the Champions League.
“He recovered well, but now we’ve lost him for a time. We have to reflect and talk to the doctors and the physios.
“He has to be relaxed, recover and come back. He was feeling really good.”
#ManchesterCity beat #Burnley (0-3) on the opening day of the #PremierLeague#Halland scored twice and was awarded the man of the match #DeBruyne had to be substituted due to injuryhttps://t.co/G1XOsWXmxq
— offsidetrap (@offsidetrap_in) August 11, 2023
Click to check the details of Man City vs Burnley.
Guardiola’s clash with Haaland
Erling Haaland’s first-half goal gave City a 1-0 lead as De Bruyne departed the pitch after only four minutes. Shortly after, the Norwegian striker scored his second goal against the Clarets to extend the visitors’ lead.
In Manchester City’s 3-0 English Premier League triumph over Burnley in the first round, Erling Haaland managed to score twice, but Pep Guardiola did not look satisfied.
Pep Guardiola pushed the cameras away after having a heated conversation with Erling Haaland with Man City up 2-0 at the half 😮 pic.twitter.com/HgRa7w3f9n
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 11, 2023
Pep confronted his Norwegian striker in a combative conversation as the players were making their way to the “Turf More” stadium’s tunnel, pointing him for some of the errors he had made.
Pep responded as follows when questioned about the situation following the game: “He wants the ball to go to him all the time, man to man, one against one, he wants to get the ball and take care of everything alone.”
He added: “When there are two or three minutes left and Kovacic comes back when we lose the ball Erling wanted to get it and Bernardo was right not to pass it to him. now”.
Erling Haaland also said about the incident and Pep that it is “Pleasure working with Pep. I don’t think there’s anyone better to work with as a young player. I have to keep developing, enjoy the chaos around me and keep doing what I do. People forget fast we’re Treble winners. We have to chase things again…”