De Bruyne out for up to six weeks

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne could be out of action for up to six weeks after injuring his knee and ankle in the League Cup semi-final win over Everton, his agent said Thursday.

The Belgian scored an important if controversial goal, when he turned in a pull-back from Raheem Sterling that appeared to have gone out of play, and set up another after coming on as substitute during City’s 3-1 second leg the Etihad on Wednesday.

But towards the end of the match, the 24-year-old appeared to get his studs caught in the turf and then landed on his knee before City completed their 4-3 aggregate victory.

Initial medical reports have indicated the problem may not be related to the cruciate ligament, but de Bruyne’s agent, Patrick de Koster, said his client would likely be out for six weeks.

“Kevin is sad. His dream is to always be playing football. He will miss games like the League Cup final and in the Champions League, which are important,” de Koster told Sky Sports News.

“But he knows they (City) are a good team, that the other players will do what they have to do, and maybe win the game for him, and also that (injuries) is what happens in football.

“He is sad, of course, but he told me, ‘this (happens) in a match, (it is something) which can happed in football, and the only thing I can do is to work hard and to come back’.”

The full extent of the injury has yet to be determined and de Koster added: “(It is) the tear in the ankle and also the lateral (knee) ligaments are such that I think for sure he will need six weeks of rehabilitation.”

De Koster added an update tomorrow morning would be more precise as to when the player would be 100 percent again.

Source: Sport24