Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has confirmed he will be out for 10 weeks with a knee injury despite initial reports suggesting he would be sidelined for just over a month.
The Belgium international was carried off on a stretcher in City’s 3-1 win over Everton in the League Cup semi-final in midweek after falling awkwardly on his knee following a pivotal performance off the bench.
De Bruyne, 24, is understood to have suffered tears to his lateral ligaments in his right knee and another to one of his ankle ligaments, putting him out of action for more than two months.
“Just got back from the specialist. I’ll be out for around 10 weeks,” De Bruyne posted on his official Twitter account on Thursday night.
The former Chelsea midfielder arrived as City’s club-record signing over the summer and has made a seamless transition to the rigours of the Premier League following a spell in Germany with Wolfsburg.
Despite being an obvious blow to their title credentials, the stats reveal that City may actually benefit without De Bruyne in the starting XI, allowing Manuel Pellegrini to strike a better blend and balance in his starting line-up.
Interestingly, City have won all of the six league games De Bruyne hasn’t started in this season, compared to a win percentage of 41.2% with him in the starting fold.
For more stats on Kevin de Bruyne, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
