Kevin de Bruyne is line to return to the Manchester City first team tomorrow night, having not started a game, in any competition since mid-September. The big Belgian has been plagued by an abdominal injury most of the season.
What’s more news-worthy about De Bruyne however is his future. The 33-year-old, who had been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer, but never actually came close to making the switch, admits his future at the club is up in the air right now.
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“I honestly don’t know,” De Bruyne said at a press conference, earlier today, when quizzed by a reporter about his club future.
“At the start of the season, I knew talks would happen but then the thing [injury] happened against Brentford. It was meant to be a couple of days and then it was eight/nine weeks. I put it all to the side.
“I had a conversation in the summer, but then I had the injury so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk about that. I need to be back on the pitch and be myself again.
“There’s no rush, I don’t feel uncomfortable, I’m not worried.”
Getting back to the injury issues, Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku have returned to training, so that’s good news. However, John Stones missed out today, so apparently he’s had a relapse.
“John feels good but has to leave after 45 minutes,” Guardiola said after the Spurs loss on Saturday, before hinting at how the central defender is likely a doubt for midweek. “John can play but can play 45 minutes and you need rhythm without raining,” he said, before the centre-back did not emerge for training later in the afternoon.
Elsewhere, Mateo Kovacic has now joined Rodri and Oscar Bobb as long-term injury absentees.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.