Kevin De Bruyne fitness update as Pep Guardiola offers major selection headache to FPL managers

Redaction Willow Austin with Freddie Pye
Published on 2024-01-26 08:00:00

Pep Guardiola’s latest fitness update on Kevin De Bruyne has likely caused a major selection headache for FPL managers worldwide.

The Belgian midfielder has made two appearances since returning to Manchester City after undergoing major hamstring surgery last summer, which kept him out for the first half of the ongoing season.

After a cameo appearance in the FA Cup third round, where he provided an assist for Jeremy Doku, and a second substitute appearance in the Premier League against Newcastle, where he provided a further goal and assist, Manchester City fans are eagerly anticipating when De Bruyne will be ready to start a contest for the club again.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s FA Cup fourth round trip to face Tottenham, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that De Bruyne is ready to start a game for his club post-injury but may not be ready for a full 90 minutes.

Guardiola emphasized that De Bruyne has been training well and his leg is behaving well, but it is important for him to continue working on and off the pitch to prevent any further injuries.

“He’s ready,” Pep Guardiola confirmed to journalists on Thursday afternoon. “He was ready at Newcastle as well. But always with these processes, the same with Erling (Haaland) when he comes back, I don’t think it’s for 90 minutes.”

The City manager continued, “But of course it’s really, really soon to play from the beginning but the most important is he trained really, really well in Abu Dhabi and every training session here as well.

“This is the most important thing, accumulating training sessions, recovery sessions, and his leg is behaving well. He has to continue to work on and off the pitch in what he has to do to prevent (injury) more, but he’s good.”

De Bruyne’s return to starting line-ups could present a major headache for Fantasy Football players, as they try to anticipate Guardiola’s thinking ahead of games.

Phil Foden has mostly operated in an attacking midfield role in the absence of De Bruyne, but with the legendary playmaker’s return, it could see Foden fielded elsewhere in Manchester City’s attacking system.

Manchester City is scheduled to arrive in London shortly before midday on Friday for their match against Tottenham, aiming to score their first away goal against them in over five years and take a major stride towards retaining their FA Cup title. This would be their third trophy in the competition since 2018.

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