Pep Guardiola isn’t about to rush his star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne’s return despite having received good news about the club’s talisman this week.
The ace Belgian midfielder underwent another scan and is reportedly feeling stronger as he recovers from a recurring hamstring injury that required surgery. City boss Guardiola is adamant in his refusal to put a time frame on De Bruyne re-joining the training sessions as they focus on pursuing a record fourth consecutive top-flight title.
“I spoke with him two days ago and he said he feels really good but… recover,” Guardiola said. “With these kind of injuries, it’s better not to put pressure.
“When he feels good and the doctors are confident, we can take the next step. You don’t want to go too early and have to go back again. A tough injury, surgery, so step by step.”
De Bruyne is still not up and running yet, with the initial prognosis being that he would be fully fit to return early New Year. The Cityzens are now gearing up to face off against Chelsea on Sunday, but will also be without John Stones, who suffered a hip injury during the midweek win over Young Boys in the Champions League clash.
Guardiola made the claim that City are ‘in trouble’ without Stones as the England international had just only managed to recapture his form after missing the majority of the season so far.
“We will see when we come back from the international break, I don’t know,” Guardiola added.
“The doctor said to me it’s not as bad but I still don’t know. When he’s going to be fit again, he’s going to come back.
“The partnership with Rodri worked so well in the defining moments of last season but this season we could not use it much. Now it’s time to reflect on what we have to do, to do better.”