‘A lot less serious’, ‘he can play against Madrid’ – Man City fans react as Guardiola provides De Bruyne injury update ahead of FA Cup semi-final

Pep Guardiola has said Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker face late fitness tests ahead of Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Saturday.

De Bruyne and Kyle Walker were forced off injured during the second half of the ill-tempered contest against Atletico Madrid in Spain, securing a 1-0 aggregate win and setting up a semi-final against Real Madrid.

Guardiola said the injuries left his team in “deep trouble” ahead of a crucial run of fixtures and amid a relentless schedule, with the meeting against rivals Liverpool at Wembley key to City’s treble bid.

De Bruyne’s problem is not thought to a muscular issue and Guardiola said the midfielder was left in discomfort due to a scar opening in his foot that required stitches.

Guardiola added that Walker had suffered a “big twist” to his ankle – suggesting the full-back’s injury is more serious – and neither played trained on Friday ahead of the match.

“They [De Bruyne and Walker] didn’t train today. We will see tomorrow,” Guardiola said. “It will be so close after what happened on Wednesday but we will see.

“Kyle had a big twist. He is getting better. We will see in the next hours, the next days. In football these kinds of things happen. We will adapt, adjust and go from here.”

Guardiola’s comments on De Bruyne’s injury were shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

Here’s what the Man City fanbase have been saying online…

“A lot less serious than I thought, hope he’s fit for the first leg”
Credit: @SxrgioSZN

“YESSSS he can play against Madrid”
Credit: @Sa8_City

“ Really happy about this. Thought we could miss him against RM..”
Credit: @iRunstreet

“Nothing serious then. Hopefully he will be back for the first leg against Real .”
Credit: @canceloimpact

“Actually huge.”
Credit: @DeBlueLou

“Means less recovery time
I expect him to be back and play a little bit in the Watford game,Start against RM.”
Credit: @Sahilpa86232916

“Thank God, it’s not a serious injury after all.”
Credit: @ifeanyiokonkwoL

“Indicates contact injury to the calf muscle that required stitches for the cut. Better than a calf strain but these can still cause muscular swelling, pain, and loss of function. Hard to give timeline bc it depends on how the those symptoms evolve.”
Credit: @3cbPerformance