Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has ruled talisman Kevin De Bruyne out of Wednesday’s derby clash with Manchester United, report The Guardian.
De Bruyne was withdrawn at half-time with an injury as City failed to beat a stubborn Southampton at the weekend. The Guardian quote Guardiola in saying there is “no way” he will be fit for Wednesday night’s game.
The Spaniard remains hopeful that De Bruyne will be available for selection at the weekend, but offered no guarantees: “Hopefully he will be back for the West Bromwich game, but at the moment he is a doubt even for the weekend.”
De Bruyne will be a huge miss for his side against United. He has been influential since joining in the summer of 2015 and is joint top of the Premier League assist rankings so far this campaign with four.
Guardiola will no doubt be keeping his fingers crossed that the Belgian recovers in time for selection at the weekend. His side face West Brom at The Hawthorns, a fixture that has proved problematic in the past for even the best teams in the league. Merely a few weeks ago Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Tony Pulis’ side.